The harvest supermoon last night (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock)
The harvest supermoon lit up the UK’s sky last night alongside a lunar eclipse.
A supermoon is when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, appearing bigger and brighter in the sky.
Those watching will have also seen a sliver of the moon disappear into the Earth’s shadow in a partial lunar eclipse.
The moon appeared at its largest in the early evening and was even slightly orange in some places.
It appeared 15% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its furthest away from Earth.
The supermoon yesterday evening is called the harvest moon because it is the closest full moon to the autumn equinox – September 22.
But these moons do not happen often, and viewers who missed out on their chance to catch a glimpse will now need to wait for the two left this year.
The moon over Dartmoor, Devon (Picture: Alamy Live News.)
An aircraft flies in front of the partially eclipsed supermoon as seen from the ground in Monroe, Wisconsin (Picture: Ross Harried/ZUMA Press Wire/Shu)
The harvest supermoon in Oxfordshire (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock)
They have already been named the October hunter moon, set to appear on October 18, and the November beaver moon, due to arrive on November 15.
It was not just the UK which got to enjoy the harvest supermoon and an eclipse, with it also being visible in Latin America, Europe and Africa.
Some parts of Asia and the Middle East also got to catch a glimpse.
Last month, an exceedingly rare blue supermoon left stargazers across Europe delighted.
A blue moon refers to a second full moon which appears in one calendar month, and occurs around once every two or three years.
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Source:: Metro
