CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Monday's supermoon is 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.
Here are a few of the breathtaking photographs of the supermoon:
People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
The sun sets as Shiite pilgrims march on their way to Karbala for Arbaeen in Babil, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The supermoon is seen over the Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Residents watch the supermoon rise over the "Memorial JK," a monument in honor of the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The supermoon rises from behind a residential building in Berlin, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The supermoon rises behind the historical site of Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A supermoon rises over the horizon of Lake Michigan as a person walks by in Milwaukee, Wis., Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
A statue of Poseidon and supermoon are seen from Kastellet in Copenhagen Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
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 super moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, south of Athens, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
The supermoon appears behind the statue on Place de la République, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
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)
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)