What name is given to the position of the Moon in it's orbit, when it is closest to the Earth?
"The Moon is visible for two weeks every 27.3 days at the North and South Poles. Zooplankton in the Arctic use moonlight when the Sun is below the horizon for months on end. The distance between the Moon and Earth varies from around to at perigee (closest) and apogee (farthest), respectively. On 14 November 2016, it was closer to Earth when at full phase than it has been since 1948, 14% closer than its farthest position in apogee. Reported as a ""supermoon"", this closest point coincided within an hour of a full moon, and it was 30% more luminous than"
"in 2000. The term ""perigee-syzygy"" or ""perigee full/new moon"" is preferred in the scientific community. Perigee is the point at which the Moon is closest in its orbit to the Earth, and syzygy is when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are aligned, which happens at every full or new moon. Astrophysicist Fred Espenak uses Nolle's definition but preferring the label of ""full Moon at perigee"". Wood used the definition of a full or new moon occurring within 24 hours of perigee and also used the label ""perigee-syzygy"". Wood also coined the less used term ""proxigee"" where perigee and"
"and it is said to be in opposition. In both cases, the Moon is in syzygy, that is, the Sun, Moon and Earth are nearly aligned. When elongation is either 90° or 270°, the Moon is said to be in quadrature. The orientation of the orbit is not fixed in space, but rotates over time. This orbital precession is also called apsidal precession and is the rotation of the Moon's orbit within the orbital plane, i.e. the axes of the ellipse change direction. The Moon's major axis – the longest diameter of the orbit, joining its nearest and farthest points,"
"Sinus Medii Sinus Medii (""Central Bay"") is a small lunar mare. It takes its name from its location at the intersection of the Moon's equator and prime meridian; as seen from the Earth, this feature is located in the central part of the Moon's near side, and it is the point closest to the Earth. From this spot the Earth would always appear directly overhead, although the planet's position would vary slightly due to libration. During the Apollo program, Sinus Medii was desingated ALS3. Flight operations planners were concerned about having the optimum lighting conditions at the landing site, hence"
"orbit is inclined 5.14° to the ecliptic, the Moon will always remain within about 5° north or south of the ecliptic. For half of a sidereal month (with respect to the stars), the Moon is either north or south of the ecliptic. The two points where the Moon's orbit intersects that of Earth are called the lunar nodes; at the ascending node, the Moon moves north of the ecliptic, while at the descending node, the satellite moves south. Eclipses occur at these points, hence the name ""ecliptic"". The nodes precess around the ecliptic axis at the rate of one circuit"
"in the WGSN's second bulletin issued in October 2016. The next additions were done on 1 February, 30 June, 5 September and 19 November 2017, and on 6 June 2018. All are included on the current List of IAU-approved Star Names, last updated on 1 June 2018. The star nearest to Earth is typically referred to simply as ""the Sun"" or its equivalent in the language being used (for instance, if two astronomers were speaking French, they would call it ""le Soleil""). However, it is sometimes called by its Latin name, Sol, in science fiction. With the advent of the"
"in a long-lasting orbit, at 28° inclination, and successfully completed its mission after one and a half years. PFS-2 was placed in a particularly unstable orbital inclination of 11°, and lasted only 35 days in orbit before crashing into the lunar surface. Lunar orbit In astronomy, lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is the orbit of an object around the Moon. As used in the space program, this refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by various manned or unmanned spacecraft around the Moon. The altitude at apoapsis (point farthest from"
"the Earth is inclined at an angle of just over 5 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun (the ecliptic). Because of this, at the time of a new moon, the Moon will usually pass to the north or south of the Sun. A solar eclipse can occur only when new moon occurs close to one of the points (known as nodes) where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic. As noted above, the Moon's orbit is also elliptical. The Moon's distance from the Earth can vary by about 6% from its average value. Therefore, the Moon's"
"Supermoon A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that approximately coincides with the closest distance that the Moon reaches to Earth in its elliptic orbit, resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system or more simply full (or new) Moon at perigee. The term ""supermoon"" is astrological in origin and has no precise astronomical definition. The real association of the Moon with both oceanic and crustal tides has led to claims that the supermoon phenomenon may be associated with"
"is also the name of the spirit who serves Prospero in Shakespeare's ""The Tempest"". The moon is also designated Uranus I. Among Uranus's five major moons, Ariel is the second closest to the planet, orbiting at the distance of about 190,000 km. Its orbit has a small eccentricity and is inclined very little relative to the equator of Uranus. Its orbital period is around 2.5 Earth days, coincident with its rotational period. This means that one side of the moon always faces the planet; a condition known as tidal lock. Ariel's orbit lies completely inside the Uranian magnetosphere. The trailing"
"total eclipses of the Moon or Sun are less frequent. Lunar phase The lunar phase or phase of the Moon is the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually and cyclically change over the period of a synodic month (about 29.53 days), as the orbital positions of the Moon around Earth and of Earth around the Sun shift. The Moon's rotation is tidally locked by Earth's gravity; therefore, most of the same lunar side always faces Earth. This near side is variously sunlit, depending on the position of the Moon"
"an ellipse. A circular orbit is a special case, wherein the foci of the ellipse coincide. The point where the orbiting body is closest to Earth is called the perigee, and is called the periapsis (less properly, ""perifocus"" or ""pericentron"") when the orbit is about a body other than Earth. The point where the satellite is farthest from Earth is called the apogee, apoapsis, or sometimes apifocus or apocentron. A line drawn from periapsis to apoapsis is the line-of-apsides. This is the major axis of the ellipse, the line through its longest part. Bodies following closed orbits repeat their paths"
"""The Rape of the Lock"", and the name suggests the Latin ""umbra"", meaning ""shadow"". The moon is also designated Uranus II. Umbriel orbits Uranus at the distance of about , being the third farthest from the planet among its five major moons. Umbriel's orbit has a small eccentricity and is inclined very little relative to the equator of Uranus. Its orbital period is around 4.1 Earth days, coincident with its rotational period. In other words, Umbriel is a synchronous or tidally locked satellite, with one face always pointing toward its parent planet. Umbriel's orbit lies completely inside the Uranian magnetosphere."
"two weeks, the Moon is called 'crescent' (when the illuminated portion increases) while it is 'falling' for the next two weeks. For two weeks, the crescent Moon wanes before and waxes after new moon, or ""change of Moon"". The Moon when other than crescent or dark, is called a gibbous, waxing before and waning after full moon. Because the Moon is so bright, it is especially interesting to see objects ""superimposed"" on it. One particular point of interest is an ISS (International Space Station) transit. Lunar observation The Moon is the largest natural satellite of and the closest major astronomical"
"hemisphere crust and upper mantle was hotter than that of the far side, resulting in the larger impact craters. These larger impact craters make up the Man in the Moon references from popular mythology. Near side of the Moon The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards Earth, whereas the opposite side is the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth – a situation known as synchronous rotation, or tidal locking."
"Near side of the Moon The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned towards Earth, whereas the opposite side is the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth – a situation known as synchronous rotation, or tidal locking. The Moon is directly illuminated by the Sun, and the cyclically varying viewing conditions cause the lunar phases. Sometimes the dark portion of the Moon is faintly visible due to earthshine, which is indirect"
"an observer when it is at its highest point in the sky, compared to when it is on the horizon. Although it appears that the Moon is biggest when it is near the horizon, the opposite is true. This phenomenon is known as the Moon illusion. The reason for the difference in distance is that the distance from the center of the Moon to the center of the Earth is nearly constant throughout the night, but an observer on the surface of Earth is actually 1 Earth radius from the center of Earth. This offset brings them closest to the"
"Orbit of the Moon The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the stars in about 27.32 days (a sidereal month) and one revolution relative to the Sun in about 29.53 days (a synodic month). Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycenter (common center of mass), which lies about from Earth's center (about of the radius of Earth). On average, the distance to the Moon is about from Earth's center, which corresponds to about 60 Earth radii. With a mean orbital velocity of 1.022 km/s (0.635 miles/s), the Moon covers a distance approximately"
"Full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (more exactly, when the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180°). This means that the lunar hemisphere facing Earth – the near side – is completely sunlit and appears as a circular disk, while the far side is dark. The full moon occurs once roughly every month. When the Moon moves into Earth's shadow, a lunar eclipse occurs, during which all or part of the Moon's face"
"Earth's Moon as if they were planets in the horoscope. These stars were called ""fixed"" because it was thought that they were attached to the firmament, the most distant from Earth of the heavenly spheres. Certain of the astrological degrees were identified and known due to their association with a corresponding star. The astrological degrees that correspond to individual stars must be corrected for the precession of the equinoxes, and as such the astrologer must know when any given position of a fixed star was noted, to make the necessary corrections. Traditional Western astrology is based on tropical astrology, which"
"Evection In astronomy, evection (Latin for ""carrying away"") is the largest inequality produced by the action of the Sun in the monthly revolution of the Moon around the Earth. The evection, formerly called the moon's second anomaly, was approximately known in ancient times, and its discovery is attributed to Ptolemy. The current name itself dates much more recently, from the 17th century: it was coined by Bullialdus in connection with his own theory of the Moon's motion. Evection causes the Moon's ecliptic longitude to vary by approximately ± 1.274° (degrees), with a period of about 31.8 days. The evection in"
"Areostationary orbit An areostationary orbit or areosynchronous equatorial orbit (abbreviated AEO) is a circular areo­synchronous orbit in the Martian equatorial plane about above the surface, any point on which revolves about Mars in the same direction and with the same period as the Martian surface. Areo­stationary orbit is a concept similar to Earth's geo­stationary orbit. The prefix ""areo-"" derives from Ares, the ancient Greek god of war and counterpart to the Roman god Mars, with whom the planet was identified. The modern Greek word for Mars is ""Άρης"" (Áris). To date, no artificial satellites have been placed in this orbit,"
"orbit"" (abbreviated ""AEO"") is a circular areo­synchronous orbit in the Martian equatorial plane about above the surface, any point on which revolves about Mars in the same direction and with the same period as the Martian surface. Areo­stationary orbit is a concept similar to Earth's geo­stationary orbit. The prefix ""areo-"" derives from Ares, the ancient Greek god of war and counterpart to the Roman god Mars, with whom the planet was identified. The modern Greek word for Mars is (). Stationary orbit In celestial mechanics, the term stationary orbit refers to an orbit around a planet or moon where the"
"in the lunar nodes and eat the Sun or Moon during an eclipse. A solar or lunar eclipse is possible only when the Moon is at or near either of the two points where its orbit crosses the ecliptic plane; i.e., the satellite is at or near either of its orbital nodes. The orbit of the Moon lies in a plane that is inclined about 5.14° with respect to the ecliptic plane. The line of intersection of these planes passes through the two points at which the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic plane: the ""ascending node"", where the Moon enters"
"Earth is approximately which is close to the correct value (0.016710219) (see Earth's orbit). The calculation is correct when perihelion, the date the Earth is closest to the Sun, falls on a solstice. The current perihelion, near January 3, is fairly close to the solstice of December 21 or 22. It took nearly two centuries for the current formulation of Kepler's work to take on its settled form. Voltaire's ""Eléments de la philosophie de Newton"" (Elements of Newton's Philosophy) of 1738 was the first publication to use the terminology of ""laws"". The ""Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers"" in its article on"
"Lunar phase The lunar phase or phase of the Moon is the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually and cyclically change over the period of a synodic month (about 29.53 days), as the orbital positions of the Moon around Earth and of Earth around the Sun shift. The Moon's rotation is tidally locked by Earth's gravity; therefore, most of the same lunar side always faces Earth. This near side is variously sunlit, depending on the position of the Moon in its orbit. Thus, the sunlit portion of this face"
"at a reference point on the surface of the Earth and another object such as the Moon is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The declination of the Moon relative to the Earth means that as the Moon orbits the Earth during half the lunar cycle the Moon is closer to the Northern Hemisphere and during the other half the Moon is closer to the Southern Hemisphere. This periodic shift in distance gives rise to the lunar fortnightly tidal constituent. The ellipticity of the lunar orbit gives rise to a lunar monthly tidal constituent. Because of"
"always keeping nearly the same face turned towards Earth. However, because of the effect of libration, about 59% of the Moon's surface can actually be seen from Earth. The side of the Moon that faces Earth is called the near side, and the opposite the far side. The far side is often inaccurately called the ""dark side"", but it is in fact illuminated as often as the near side: once every 29.5 Earth days. During new moon, the near side is dark. The Moon had once rotated at a faster rate, but early in its history, its rotation slowed and"
"of the sun sets at the lunar north pole and rises at the lunar south pole. Every 18.6 years, the angle between the Moon's orbit and Earth's equator reaches a maximum of 28°36′, the sum of Earth's equatorial tilt (23°27′) and the Moon's orbital inclination (5°09′) to the ecliptic. This is called ""major lunar standstill"". Around this time, the Moon's declination will vary from −28°36′ to +28°36′. Conversely, 9.3 years later, the angle between the Moon's orbit and Earth's equator reaches its minimum of 18°20′. This is called a ""minor lunar standstill"". The last lunar standstill was a minor standstill"
"of the ecliptic). Thus, when new and full moons occur, the Moon usually lies to the north or south of a direct line through the Earth and Sun. Although an eclipse can only occur when the Moon is either new (solar) or full (lunar), it must also be positioned very near the intersection of Earth's orbital plane about the Sun and the Moon's orbital plane about the Earth (that is, at one of its nodes). This happens about twice per year, and so there are between four and seven eclipses in a calendar year. Most of these eclipses are partial;"
"a moon of another planet from its central planet, for instance the angular distance of Io from Jupiter. Here we can also talk about ""greatest eastern elongation"" and ""greatest western elongation"". In the case of the moons of Uranus, one often talks about ""greatest northern elongation"" and ""greatest southern elongation"" instead, due to the very high inclination of Uranus' axis of rotation.. Elongation (astronomy) In astronomy, a planet's elongation is the angular separation between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point. The greatest elongation of a given inferior planet occurs when this planet’s position, in its"
"orbit. The orbital ellipse goes through each of the six Earth images, which are sequentially the perihelion (periapsis — nearest point to the Sun) on anywhere from January 2 to January 5, the point of March equinox on March 19, 20, or 21, the point of June solstice on June 20, 21, or 22, the aphelion (apoapsis — farthest point from the Sun) on anywhere from July 3 to July 5, the September equinox on September 22, 23, or 24, and the December solstice on December 21, 22, or 23. The diagram shows an exaggerated shape of Earth's orbit; the"
"The largest term in nutation is caused by the fact that the orbit of the Moon around the Earth is inclined at slightly over 5° to the plane of the ecliptic, and the orientation of this orbital plane varies over a period of about 18.6 years. Because the Earth's equator is itself inclined at an angle of about 23.5° to the ecliptic (the obliquity of the ecliptic, formula_1), these effects combine to mean that the inclination of the Moon's orbit to the equator varies between about 18.4° and 28.6° over the 18.6 year period. This causes the orientation of the"