Supermoon Calendar 2016
There are no more supermoons this year. The next super moon is in 2017
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 2016?
| Date | Relative dist* | Distance (Km) | Distance (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16th Sep 2016 | 0.933 | 364,754 km | 227,971 mi |
| 16th Oct 2016 | 0.987 | 358,473 km | 224,046 mi |
| 14th Nov 2016 | 1 | 356,520 km | 222,825 mi |
| 14th Dec 2016 | 0.979 | 359,447 km | 224,654 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.