Competitive Exams: Current Affairs 2011: Supermoon

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Supermoon

  • The Moon՚s distance varies each month between approximately 357,000 (perigee) kilometers and 406,000 km (apogee) due to its elliptical orbit around the Earth.
  • Full moon at perigee is 12% larger and brighter than an average full moon. This conicidence is called supermoon
  • Technical name for a supermoon is the perigee-syzygy of the Eartho Moon-Sun system.
  • The supermoon event, occurred on 19 march 2011 was around 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the other normal full moons.
  • The phenomenon was special, as the moon came closest to the earth in 18 years.
  • The supermoon phenomenon occurred in 1955,1974, 1992 and 2005. Courtesy: The Hindu and Times of India