Supermoon Calendar 2011
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2012
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 2011?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19th Jan 2011 | 0.92 | 366,158 km | 228,849 mi |
| 18th Feb 2011 | 0.982 | 359,102 km | 224,439 mi |
| 19th Mar 2011 | 1 | 356,577 km | 222,861 mi |
| 18th Apr 2011 | 0.985 | 358,796 km | 224,248 mi |
| 17th May 2011 | 0.93 | 365,165 km | 228,228 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.