Supermoon Calendar 2009
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2010
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 2009?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th Jan 2009 | 0.99 | 357,968 km | 223,730 mi |
| 9th Feb 2009 | 0.942 | 364,050 km | 227,531 mi |
| 2nd Dec 2009 | 0.908 | 367,241 km | 229,526 mi |
| 31st Dec 2009 | 0.978 | 359,722 km | 224,826 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.