perigee

astronomy

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

Quick Summary

Perigee is the point in an object's orbit that is closest to the Earth. This term is used in astronomy for satellites, the Moon, or other celestial bodies orbiting Earth. For instance, the Moon's perigee is the closest it comes to Earth in its orbit, while its farthest point is called apogee. When a full moon occurs at perigee, it is referred to as a supermoon. The term perihelion is used for the point in an orbit closest to the Sun.12345

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…generally used; if the Earth, perigee and apogee. Periastron and apastron refer to an orbit around a star, and perijove and apojove refer to an orbit around Jupiter.
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…generally used; if the Earth, perigee and apogee. Periastron and apastron refer to an orbit around a star, and perijove and apojove refer to an orbit around Jupiter.
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Moon
Principal characteristics of the Earth-Moon system
…when the Moon is near perigee, observers along the path of the Moon’s dark inner shadow (umbra) see a total eclipse. If the Moon is near apogee, it does not quite cover the Sun; the resulting eclipse is annular, and observers can see a thin ring of the solar disk…
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…when the Moon is near perigee, observers along the path of the Moon’s dark inner shadow (umbra) see a total eclipse. If the Moon is near apogee, it does not quite cover the Sun; the resulting eclipse is annular, and observers can see a thin ring of the solar disk…
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full moon
…orbit closest to Earth (perigee), it can appear from Earth as much as 14 percent larger in the sky than at its farthest point (apogee). When a full moon occurs close to the perigee, it is often regarded as a supermoon, a term coined in the 1970s. This phenomenon…
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…orbit closest to Earth (perigee), it can appear from Earth as much as 14 percent larger in the sky than at its farthest point (apogee). When a full moon occurs close to the perigee, it is often regarded as a supermoon, a term coined in the 1970s. This phenomenon…
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