periikään

Periikään is a Finnish term that translates to "perigee" in English. It refers to the point in the orbit of an object, such as a moon or a satellite, where it is closest to the planet or celestial body it is orbiting. This is in contrast to apogee, which is the point where the object is farthest from the body it orbits.

The concept of perigee is particularly relevant when discussing Earth's moon. When the Moon is at its perigee, it appears slightly larger and brighter in the sky. This phenomenon can contribute to unusually high tides, often referred to as "king tides." The gravitational pull of the Moon is strongest at perigee, influencing the Earth's oceans more significantly.

The distance at which perigee occurs can vary slightly with each orbit due to various gravitational influences from other celestial bodies. While the average distance from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 384,400 kilometers, the perigee distance typically ranges from about 363,300 to 370,500 kilometers. Understanding perigee is important in fields such as astronomy, orbital mechanics, and even in predicting tidal patterns.