If you read the 2026 Calendar in this blog, you would’ve noticed that along with the moon phases, I also posted the dates the moon will be on perigee and the dates the moon will be on apogee, according to the state of Texas. You would be amazed to see that I put all of the moon phases and the seasonal starts, but you would wonder why I put the apogees and perigees in as well. That’s because I like to put that stuff in.
- When the moon is at apogee, it will be the furthest from the Earth. It will look smaller on Full Moon.
- When the moon is at perigee, it will be the closest to the Earth. It will look bigger on Full Moon.
When a Lunar Perigee and Full Moon phase are close to each other, you will get something called a Supermoon. A Supermoon can occur even when the perigee and full moon phase aren’t on the same day, but sometimes, a Perigee can be closer. For example, on May 6th, 2012, the exact minutes that the Full Moon phase and perigee were just two minutes apart.
If you want to know something, both the Earth’s orbit around the Sun (solar cycles) and the Moon’s orbit around the Earth (lunar cycles) also have their counterparts. There’s a time when the distance will be the longest, a time when the distance will be the shortest, four exact phases, and four in-between phases.
Apsis:
The days of the lunar apogees and perigees are what we call apsis. At some point before the Moon or Earth completes their orbit, the day the two celestial bodies will be the furthest will only happen once, and the day the two celestial bodies will be the closest will only happen once. While it’s possible for the Moon to go through two perigees within two New Moons or two apogees within two New Moons, the Earth can only go through perihelion once a year. It can also through aphelion once a year too.
- The Solar equivalent of a Lunar Perigee is a Perihelion, when the Earth is the closest to the Sun.
- The Solar equivalent of a Lunar Apogee is an Aphelion, when the Earth is the furthest from the Sun.
Right now, the Earth is closer to the Sun during the winter, and further from the Sun during the summer. You may think, if the Earth is closer to the Sun, it should be hotter. Except that it doesn’t. When the Earth is closer to the Sun, it moves faster. When it’s further from the Sun, it moves slower. Ironically, the Earth, as a whole, is warmer in the summer than in the winter. Because the Northern Hemisphere has more land, and the Southern Hemisphere has more water, the Northern Hemisphere gets colder during their winters than the Southern Hemisphere does during their winters. For this same reason, the Northern Hemisphere gets hotter during their summers than the Southern Hemisphere does during their summers. So the Earth is actually cooler when it’s closer to the Sun, orbit-wise. Even when it’s closer, it’s far enough to where the position along the orbit doesn’t influence the temperatures.
Phases:
In addition to the perigees, apogees, perihelion, and aphelion, I listed the moon phases. For a reminder, here are the moon phases:
- New Moon – there is no moon in the sky.
- Waxing Crescent – the Moon is less than half full, but it gains light every night. This phase is present in the PM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side.
- First Quarter Moon – the Moon is half full, in the phase when it’s gaining light at night. This phase is present in the PM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side.
- Waxing Gibbous – the Moon is more than half full, and it gains light every night. This phase is present in the PM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side.
- Full Moon – the Moon is 100% full and bright.
- Waning Gibbous – the Moon is more than half full, but it loses light every night. This phase is present in the AM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side.
- Last Quarter Moon – the Moon is half full, in the phase when it’s losing light at night. This phase is present in the AM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side.
- Waning Crescent – the Moon is less than half full, and it loses light every night. This phase is present in the AM hours.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, the light is on the left side. In the Southern Hemisphere, the light is on the right side.
And it repeats every 29.5 days.
The solar calendar has its equivalent of the moon phases too. Just like how the Moon is waxing or waning, the Earth is tilting towards the Sun or away from the Sun. It will get to its maximum tilt one side, then it tilts back until it gets to its other maximum tilt. The poles will experience more drastic daylight hours, as it’s daytime in the summer, but nighttime in the winter. Assuming that the amount of light on the moon is equivalent to how long daylight hours are in the North Pole, here’s the facts:
- The Solar equivalent to a New Moon is the Winter Solstice.
- The Solar equivalent to a Waxing Crescent is the winter.
- The Solar equivalent to a First Quarter Moon is the Vernal Equinox.
- The Solar equivalent to a Waxing Gibbous is the spring.
- The Solar equivalent to a Full Moon is the Summer Solstice.
- The Solar equivalent to a Waning Gibbous is the summer.
- The Solar equivalent to a Last Quarter Moon is the Autumnal Equinox.
- The Solar equivalent to a Waning Crescent is the fall.
Finally, I would like to talk about how the solstices and equinoxes impact the latitudes on the Earth.
- Winter Solstice:
- All land north of the Arctic Circle is at night.
- Tropic of Capricorn gets direct light.
- All land south of the Antarctic Circle is at day.
- Vernal Equinox:
- North of the Arctic Circle gets equal day and equal night.
- Equator gets direct light.
- South of the Arctic Circle gets equal day and equal night.
- Summer Solstice:
- All land north of the Arctic Circle is at day.
- Tropic of Cancer gets direct light.
- All land south of the Antarctic Circle is at night.
- Autumnal Equinox:
- North of the Arctic Circle gets equal day and equal night.
- Equator gets direct light.
- South of the Arctic Circle gets equal day and equal night.
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