InstagramChloe Dean captured this beautiful view of the supermoon with her Nikon camera in Bournemouth, Dorset, located in the United Kingdom.
The only supermoon of the year could be seen in the sky Sunday night in some parts of the world, while other areas were too overcast to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sight.
The term “supermoon” has only been used for about 40 years, and according to Space.com:
A supermoon needs two key ingredients to occur. The moon needs to be at its closest approach, or perigee, to the Earth in its 27-day orbit. The moon also needs to be at the full phase, which happens every 29.5 days when the sun fully illuminates the moon. Supermoons only happen a few times a year (at most) because the moon’s orbit changes orientation while the Earth orbits the sun — that’s why you don’t see a supermoon every month.
NASA states on their website that “The name ‘supermoon’ was coined by an astrologer in 1979 and is often used by the media today to describe what astronomers would call a perigean (pear-ih-jee-un) full moon: a full moon occurring near or at the time when the Moon is at its closest point in its orbit around Earth. The term gives preference to the geometric alignment of Sun-Earth-Moon and allows the occurrence of perigee into a wider time period than the actual instant of perigee (up to about two weeks, which is almost half of the Moon’s orbit).”
Many took to social media to rave about the beautiful glowing moon. Dennis Wyrick posted the following photo to Instagram showing the view from Tampa Bay, Florida:
A glorious sight could be seen in Bali:
@dreaming_big_mn captured the photo below from Buffalo, Minnesota:
“Super moon in the midwest #chicago #supermoon #moon,” @heatheraitkenphotography captioned the following spectacular photo:
Though many in the midwest were unable to see the beautiful glowing moon Sunday night due to overcast skies, Courtney Seal captured the following photo in Waukesha, Wisconsin:
Courtney Seal
Carrie Barto took the stunning photo below from Hartland, Wisconsin:
Carrie Barto
Mike Goeden’s photo shows the miraculous view of the supermoon from Los Angeles, California, palm trees and all:
Mike Goeden
If you missed the beautiful supermoon this year, have no fear as there are plenty of nighttime highlights to come in 2018. You can look forward to the following sights next year, according to Forbes.com:
January 1 Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
January 2 Full Moon, Supermoon
January 3, 4 Quadrantids Meteor Shower
January 17 New Moon
January 31 Full Moon, Supermoon, Blue Moon
January 31 Total Lunar Eclipse
February 15 New Moon
February 15 Partial Solar Eclipse
March 2 Full Moon
March 15 Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
March 17 New Moon
March 20 March Equinox
March 31 Full Moon, Blue Moon
April 16 New Moon
April 22, 23 Lyrids Meteor Shower
April 29 Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
April 30 Full Moon
May 6, 7 Eta Aquarids
May 9 Jupiter at Opposition
May 15 New Moon
May 29 Full Moon
June 13 New Moon
June 21 June Solstice
June 27 Saturn at Opposition
June 28 Full Moon
July 12 Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
July 13 New Moon
July 13 Partial Solar Eclipse
July 27 Full Moon
July 27 Total Lunar Eclipse
July 27 Mars at Opposition
July 28, 29 Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower
August 11 New Moon
August 11 Partial Solar Eclipse
August 12, 13 Perseids Meteor Shower
August 17 Venus at Greatest Eastern Elongation
August 26 Full Moon
August 26 Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
September 7 Neptune at Opposition
September 9 New Moon
September 23 September Equinox
September 25 Full Moon
October 8 Draconids Meteor Shower
October 9 New Moon
October 21, 22 Orionids Meteor Shower
October 23 Uranus at Opposition
October 24 Full Moon
November 5, 6 Taurids Meteor Shower
November 6 Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
November 7 New Moon
November 17, 18 Leonids Meteor Shower
November 23 Full Moon
December 7 New Moon
December 13, 14 Geminids Meteor Shower
December 15 Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation
December 21 December Solstice
December 22 Full Moon
December 21, 22 Ursids Meteor Shower
Read on for more photos of 2017’s one and only supermoon: