The moon at perigee
The distance of the moon from the earth always changes because the moon orbits in an elliptical orbit around the earth.
The moon reaches perigee, meaning it reaches the closest point to the earth in its elliptical orbit. Here, perigee comes from two words: peri, meaning near, and geo, meaning earth.
The moon appears slightly larger than usual when it reaches perigee.
Now, these closest distances vary every time the moon reaches perigee. This is because the orbit of the moon wobbles due to the gravitational perturbations of the sun.
The full moon at perigee
If a full moon occurs near perigee then it’s called a supermoon. A supermoon is about 7% larger than a regular full moon and about 14% larger than a micromoon.
How often is the moon at perigee?
The moon reaches perigee once every anomalistic month or 27.555 days. The moon takes 27.555 days to complete one orbit around the Earth with respect to the perigee. This is called an anomalistic month.
Now, the moon takes 27.322 days to complete one orbit around the Earth with respect to the background stars. This is called a sidereal month. So an anomalistic month is slightly longer than a sidereal month.
When is the next lunar perigee in 2024?
The next lunar perigee in 2024 will be on Thursday, October 17, at 00:46 UTC (or Wednesday, October 16, at 8:46 p.m EDT).
Distance of the moon: During the perigee, the distance of the moon from the earth will be 357,173 kilometers. The average distance of the moon from the earth is 384,400 kilometers.
Angular diameter: During the perigee, the angular diameter (disk size) of the moon will be 33.46 arcminutes. The average angular diameter of the moon is 31 arcminutes.
Moon phase: During the perigee, the moon will be in the full moon phase and 100% illuminated.
Lunar perigee dates in 2024 with distance
Here are all the dates of the lunar perigee in 2024, along with their distance according to NASA:
| Date | Time (UTC) | Distance (km) | Angular diameter (arcmin) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 13 | 10:35 | 362264 | 32.99 |
| February 10 | 18:49 | 358088 | 33.37 |
| March 10 | 07:06 | 356895 | 33.48 |
| April 07 | 17:53 | 358850 | 33.30 |
| May 05 | 22:11 | 363166 | 32.91 |
| June 02 | 07:23 | 368108 | 32.46 |
| June 27 | 11:45 | 369292 | 32.36 |
| July 24 | 05:43 | 364914 | 32.75 |
| August 21 | 05:05 | 360199 | 33.18 |
| September 18 | 13:26 | 357284 | 33.45 |
| October 17 | 00:46 | 357173 | 33.46 |
| November 14 | 11:18 | 360110 | 33.18 |
| December 12 | 13:18 | 365360 | 32.71 |
Related article: What is lunar apogee and when is the next one?
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