What is perigee?

Perigee is when something gets super close to Earth, like when a moon or satellite zips right by us.

Imagine you're on a swing. When you’re all the way up high, that’s like being far away from Earth. But when you zoom back down to the lowest point, that’s perigee, it's the closest you get to the ground. That’s how it feels for something like the moon: sometimes it’s really close, and sometimes it’s way up there.

Think of the moon as a friend who likes to dance around Earth. Sometimes they're right next to each other, that’s perigee, you can even see the moon look bigger in the sky! Other times, your friend is far away, and that's called apogee.

So every time your moon friend comes by for a close visit, that’s perigee. It's like when your favorite toy zooms right up to you during playtime, exciting and super near! Perigee is when something gets super close to Earth, like when a moon or satellite zips right by us.

Imagine you're on a swing. When you’re all the way up high, that’s like being far away from Earth. But when you zoom back down to the lowest point, that’s perigee, it's the closest you get to the ground. That’s how it feels for something like the moon: sometimes it’s really close, and sometimes it’s way up there.