Get ready, stargazers! The upcoming new moon on November 20th will be the most distant from Earth until the year 2043! That's right, we're talking about a celestial event that won't be matched for nearly two decades.
The Moon's orbit around our planet isn't a perfect circle; it's elliptical. This means the distance between the Earth and the Moon varies. The closest point in its orbit is called the perigee, and the farthest is the apogee. Due to the gravitational forces, these distances fluctuate. The perigee can range from approximately 356,355 to 370,399 kilometers (221,429 to 230,155 miles) from Earth, while the apogee can vary between 404,042 to 406,725 kilometers (251,060 to 252,272 miles).
As the Moon journeys around Earth, its orbit also shifts, so sometimes full moons occur near perigee (supermoons) and sometimes near apogee (micromoons). The new moon, which is the opposite lunar phase to a full moon, follows the same pattern. According to TimeAndDate, the new moon on November 20th will be the most distant one for the next 18 years, occurring when the Moon is 406,681 kilometers (252,706 miles) away.
As Graham Jones from TimeAndDate noted, “The Moon reaches its farthest distance on November 20, 2025, around 02:46 UTC. This is about four hours before the moment of New Moon at 06:47 UTC.”
But here's where it gets interesting: the new moon on December 1, 2043, will be even further out, reaching 406,699 kilometers (252,711 miles). This will be the third-farthest new moon of this century, following the 2043 event and the new moon of March 14, 2002, at 406,700 km (252,712 miles). The actual farthest new moon over the next 175 years will occur on February 3, 2125, at 406,709 km (252,717 miles).
And this is the part most people miss... If you're up for a unique adventure, you could theoretically hold the record for being the person furthest from the Moon! All you'd need is a boat and a trip to the antipodes of Australia.
The Earth's radius is roughly 6,371 km (3,959 miles), and the Moon's radius is about 1,737 km (1,079 miles). This means that from Western Australia, the distance to the Moon's surface will be approximately 398,600 km (247,700 miles).
The point opposite Western Australia is in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km (930 miles) southeast of Bermuda. The distance from Bermuda to the Moon's surface will be around 411,300 km (255,600 miles).
Controversy & Comment Hooks: What do you think about these astronomical events? Do you find the variations in the Moon's distance fascinating, or is it just another interesting fact? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
