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.
- With files from The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 20, 2024.
The supermoon rises above a beer sign during a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)The supermoon rises above a beer sign during a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Clouds pass by a supermoon on the banks of river Jhelum in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)The supermoon rises over the "Memorial JK," a monument in honor of the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)The super moon rises behind the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)A nearly full supermoon shines behind vegetation in Caesarea, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)The super moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, south of Athens, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)The supermoon rises behind the historical site of Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)A cable car heads toward Sugarloaf Mountain as the supermoon rises into the night sky in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Aug 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)The supermoon rises behind the historical site of Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)The supermoon rises from behind a resident building in Berlin, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)A supermoon rises over a residential building in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)The supermoon appears behind the statue on Place de la République, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)The supermoon rises over a city landmark, the weather vane in the form of a ship fixed atop a spire of the Admiralty building in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)The supermoon rises through clouds over the city centre in Tallinn, Estonia, late Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)A nearly full supermoon rises in the sky after rain in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
