Supermoon Calendar 2012
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2013
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 2012?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8th Mar 2012 | 0.927 | 365,503 km | 228,439 mi |
| 6th Apr 2012 | 0.984 | 359,081 km | 224,426 mi |
| 6th May 2012 | 1 | 356,955 km | 223,097 mi |
| 4th Jun 2012 | 0.984 | 359,258 km | 224,536 mi |
| 3rd Jul 2012 | 0.927 | 365,489 km | 228,431 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.