January 30, 2022
Although the moon’s orbit around Earth is nearly circular, when in fact it is an ellipse. This means that, although the average distance to the moon is 238,900 miles, the moon can be further or nearer to us. The furthest point in the Moon’s orbit is called apogee, where the nearest point is called perigee. Tonight, the moon reaches perigee (225,000 miles away) for the second time this month.
The near and far points in the Moon’s orbit are called apsides. The Moon will return to the same apsis in roughly 27.554 days. This cycle is called an anomalistic month. Image credit: NASA.
