The moon is at its farthest distance from Earth on Saturday (23)

This Saturday (23), the Moon reached its zenith, which is the farthest point from Earth in its current orbit around the planet. According to the Astronomical Observation Guide InTheSky.orgThe moment this happened was 12:44 pm (Brasilia time).

The Moon's distance from Earth varies because its orbit is not perfectly circular, it is slightly elliptical, and follows a path known as an ellipse. When the Moon crosses this elliptical path around the planet each month, the distance it travels varies by 14%, between 356,500 kilometers at perigee (closest approach) and 406,700 kilometers at apogee.

“These values ​​are average because, in practice, they vary greatly due to the gravitational effects of the Sun and other planets in the solar system,” says Marcelo Zurita, president of the Paraibana Astronomy Association (APA), a member of the Brazilian Society of Astronomy. The Astronomical Society (SAB), Technical Director of the Brazilian Meteor Observing Network (BRAMON) and columnist for Digital look.

The angular size of the star also varies by the same factor, and its brightness also changes, although this is difficult to detect in practice, as the phases of the Moon change at the same time. This Saturday, for example, ends the growth phase – the second of the current cycle, and begins a new cycle (i.e. the “new” phase) on April 8th.

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The perigee-aphelion-perigee cycle time of the Moon is 27.55 days. This is just over an orbital period of 27,322 days. “This period is called the sidereal month, and it differs from the lunar month, which is a 29.5-day period between two novae, because since the Earth also revolves around the Sun, the Moon needs little more than a return to exist. “Same alignment with the Sun, and therefore same phase,” Zurita explains.

About the phases of the moon

The new moon marks the beginning of the month in lunar calendars, such as the Islamic calendar, and in lunisolar calendars, such as the Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist calendars.

The lunar cycle, or lunar cycle, as the interval between new moons is called, is subtly variable, with an average duration of 29.5 days. During this period, it goes through four main stages (new, growth, completion, and decay), and each stage lasts for approximately seven days.

There are also “interphases”: waxing and waning quadrants (between the new and waning phase) and waning tunable quadrants (between the full and waning phase).