Wax & Wane

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Zeitgeisters,

You’ll recall that Our Planet Earth has a natural satellite that we insist on calling the Moon.

Here are some fun facts about the distance of the Moon from Planet Earth.

perigee (closest): 363,000 km
semimajor axis (mean distance): 384,400 km.
apogee (farthest): 406,000 km
So when someone does the hackneyed line about there being so many people in Beijing/Tokyo/Mexico City (et cetera) that if they stood on each others shoulders they could reach from here to the Moon, ask that person to clarify whether they mean the Moon at perigee or apogee. As you can see, it makes a difference.

Elevate the Insignificant,

Mr Trivia

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