The point in the orbit of the Moon or an artificial satellite at which it is nearest to the Earth is called:

Perigee is the point in the orbit of the Moon, or of an artificial satellite, at which it is closest to the Earth. The point at which it is farthest from the Earth is called the apogee.

Origin of the words:

• Both words come from Greek. "Peri" means near, "apo" means away from, and "gee" comes from "Ge" or "Gaia", meaning the Earth.
• Similarly, "helion" comes from "Helios", the Sun, giving perihelion and aphelion for orbits around the Sun.

The Moon's distance:

• The Moon's orbit is an ellipse, so its distance from the Earth changes.
• At perigee, the Moon is about 3,63,300 km from the Earth.
• At apogee, it is about 4,05,500 km away.
• The average distance is about 3,84,400 km.

Supermoon and micromoon:

When a full moon occurs near perigee, the Moon looks about 14 percent larger and up to 30 percent brighter than when it is at apogee. This is popularly called a supermoon.

A full moon near apogee is sometimes called a micromoon.

Effect on tides:

When the Moon is at perigee, its gravitational pull on the Earth is stronger, so tides are higher than usual. These are called perigean tides.

If perigee coincides with a full or new moon, tides can be especially high.

Artificial satellites:

The terms perigee and apogee are also used for satellites orbiting the Earth.

For example, launch vehicles often place satellites first in a geostationary transfer orbit with a low perigee and a high apogee. The satellite then fires its engine at apogee to reach its final orbit.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Apogee is the farthest point from the Earth in an orbit.
• ✗Perihelion and aphelion refer to the nearest and farthest points in an orbit around the Sun.