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.
People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on Aug. 19, 2024. Richard Vogel/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
The supermoon rises from behind a resident building in Berlin on Aug. 19, 2024. Markus Schreiber/AP Photo
Clouds float past a supermoon over the Jhelum River in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, on Aug. 19, 2024. Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo
A nearly full supermoon shines behind vegetation in Caesarea, Israel, on Aug. 19, 2024. Ariel Schalit/AP Photo
A statue of Mercury and supermoon are seen at Kastellet in Copenhagen on Aug. 19, 2024. Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
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 supermoon is seen over San Francisco from Marin Headlands in Sausalito, Calif., on Aug. 19, 2024. Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
By Marcia Dunn
