Diane Berkenbile, age 10, of Hennessey, Okla.,for her question:

WHAT IS THE MOON'S APOGEE?

The moon, as we know, orbits around the earth  but its orbit is not a perfect circle. Sometimes its path comes closer to the earth and sometimes it swings farther away. The point where it is farthest from the earth is called the moon's apogee. The point where it comes closest is called its perigee. When the moon passes its perigee point, its distance from us is about 221,456 miles. When it gets to its apogee point, its distance is 252,711 miles.

Suppose the moon's orbit were a perfect circle. The distance between the earth and the moon would be about 238,857 miles all the time. But, since its orbit is not perfectly round, the distance between us changes from perigee, the nearest point, to apogee, the farthest point.