Perigree Moon

Perigree Moon of May 2012

Referred to by the media as "Supermoon", the event of a week ago presented a full moon coinciding with a close approach presenting a brighter and larger view. The moon follows an elliptical, or Kepler, orbit around the earth, with the closer focal point deemed the perigree, the opposed deemed apogee. What made this apparently news worth was that, as it was during a full moon, the event was easily observable; however, the distance the moon presented is not uncommon. For example, June of next year will present a full moon only 36 km further than of this month and yet August of the year after will present a full moon 57 km closer.