Supermoon Calendar 2013
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2014
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 2013?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th Apr 2013 | 0.928 | 365,317 km | 228,323 mi |
| 25th May 2013 | 0.984 | 359,111 km | 224,444 mi |
| 23rd Jun 2013 | 1 | 356,991 km | 223,119 mi |
| 22nd Jul 2013 | 0.984 | 359,172 km | 224,483 mi |
| 21st Aug 2013 | 0.928 | 365,342 km | 228,339 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.