A super full harvest moon shone brightly last night, with photographers from around the world pointing their cameras skyward to capture the event.
This is because the Moon follows an elliptical orbit around Earth, with a closest point (perigee) and a farthest point (apogee) occurring at different times each month. When a full moon rises near perigee, it becomes a supermoon.
The moon became full just before midnight, around 11:47 p.m. EST, Monday, October 6. Full moons also appear bright and full on the nights just before and after their peak, so take a look outside tonight for another stunning view of Earth’s natural satellite.
Last night was the first of three supermoons predicted for 2025. To mark the occasion, Live Science has rounded up some of the best Harvest supermoon photos taken last night from around the world.
In Italy, photographer Lorenzo Di Cola captured this stunning photo of the moon rising over Rocca Calascio Castle and Santa Maria della Pietà Church in Calascio.
The Moon was a supermoon because it was closer to Earth than usual. The distance between us and our planet’s natural satellite is about 10% closer than normal during this lunar stage, with the Moon hovering about 224,599 miles (361,457 kilometers) away rather than the distance between us and our planet’s natural satellite. average distance of 238,855 miles (384,400 km).
Photographer Gongga Laisong captured the illuminated moon in the sky above the Potala Palace in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
While the Moon became full on Monday, it will be at its closest distance from Earth late Wednesday night (October 8), the same night we might see shooting stars in the annual spectacle. Draconid Meteor Shower.
Photographer Aditya Irawan captured this image of a plane flying in front of the moon as it flew over Indonesia’s West Java province.
The Harvest Moon often occurs in September, but it fell in October this year due to natural variations in the lunar calendar. Generally, “Harvest Moon” is the name given to the full moon that rises closest to the autumnal equinoxIt was September 22 of this year.
In Spain, photographer Marcos del Mazo took this photo of the moon rising over some residential buildings in Madrid. Whether or not it’s a supermoon, the full moon always appears larger when it rises near foreground objects like buildings or trees. This is a common optical trick known as the moon illusion.
In Indonesia, photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba captured a striking image of the moon lighting up the night sky as it rose above the West Irian Liberation Monument in Jakarta.
Photographer Chi Shiyong captured this satisfying snapshot of the moon aligned with the top of a bridge in the northeastern Chinese city of Daqing.
This photo, taken by photographer Rasid Necati Aslim, shows the moon behind a lamp post in Manchester, UK.
THE next full moon rises on November 5 (1:21 p.m. UTC/8:21 a.m. EST), which will be the second of three supermoons this year. The November full moon is also known as the “beaver moon” because it is the time of year when beavers typically build their dams.