People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on Aug. 19, 2024. (Richard Vogel/AP Photo)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Monday’s supermoon was the first of four this year.
During a supermoon, the full moon inches a little closer than usual to Earth. A supermoon isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.
September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year.
More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.
The super moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, south of Athens on Aug. 19, 2024. (Michael Varaklas/AP Photo)The supermoon is seen over the Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Aug. 20, 2024. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)The super moon rises behind the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem on Aug. 19, 2024. (Leo Correa/AP Photo)Clouds float past a supermoon over the Jhelum River in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir on Aug. 19, 2024. (Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo)The supermoon rises from behind a resident building in Berlin on Aug. 19, 2024. (Markus Schreiber/AP Photo)The supermoon rises behind the historical site of Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 19, 2024. (Amr Nabil/AP Photo)A cable car heads toward Sugarloaf Mountain as the supermoon rises into the night sky in Rio de Janeiro on Aug 19, 2024. (Bruna Prado/AP Photo)A statue of Mercury and supermoon are seen at Kastellet in Copenhagen on Aug. 19, 2024. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)A blue supermoon rises over the Crescent City Connection bridge in New Orleans on Aug. 19, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
