Supermoon Calendar 2003
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2004
As the moon orbits the earth it does so in an elliptical manner, moving closer and further away. At its closest, or during perigee, it is in the region of 360,000 km (225,000 miles) away. If this point in the orbit coincides with a full moon phase it is often referred to as a "supermoon".
Technically speaking supermoon is not a scientific term but it is widely used to describe the phenomenon which occurs when the full moon is within 90% of perigee. The official name is perigee syzgy.
From earth a supermoon will appear slightly larger than usual - up to 17% larger than the smallest of full moons and considerably brighter.
When are the supermoon dates in 2003?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18th Mar 2003 | 0.965 | 361,419 km | 225,887 mi |
| 16th Apr 2003 | 0.997 | 357,306 km | 223,316 mi |
| 16th May 2003 | 0.995 | 357,691 km | 223,557 mi |
| 14th Jun 2003 | 0.958 | 362,317 km | 226,448 mi |
* The relative distance shows how close the Moon is to the closest point of its orbit - otherwise known as perigee. A value of 1 would mean it was the full moon exactly at perigee. Any value ofer 0.9 is considered a supermoon.