There has just been a so-called ‘supermoon’ – the biggest full moon in 18 years.
The moon’s orbit is oval, so there is a point where it is the closest to the Earth. This is known as its perigee. On Saturday, March 19, the moon’s closest perigee of the year occurred within one hour of the monthly astronomical phase of the full moon.
Together this made for increased brightness and size. It appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual. During this supermoon, the moon was a mere 221,565 miles or 356,575 kilometers away from the Earth.
Below is a small selection from the many thousands of photos of the supermoon, taken by flickr users on the night.
By the way, despite the social media rumors, the supermoon had nothing to do with the Japan earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
1. Feature image CC licensed by thomas gatzweiler
2. Image CC licensed by koshyk
3. Image CC licensed by untoro
4. Image CC licensed by blmurch
5. Image CC licensed by untoro
6. Image CC licensed by Anthony Quintano
7. Image CC licensed by Chris Bloke
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