"Tonight the full moon will be closer to Earth than at any other time this year, an occurrence that's been labeled a supermoon.
Due to the moon's egg-shaped orbit, there are times when our natural satellite is at perigee—its closest to Earth—and at apogee, its farthest.
The term "supermoon" was coined in 1979 to describe a full moon that coincides with perigee—something that happens about once a year, on average. During this week's perigee, the moon will be 221,801 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, and that close approach will happen within minutes of the official full moon phase, which occurs at 11:35 p.m. ET."
Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News / more
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