A dramatic supermoon alongside the Perseid meteor shower lit up the clear night sky across the world this weekend, much to the delight of astronomers and amateur star gazers.
The supermoon arrived two days before the peak of the meteor shower and was 30% brighter and 14% bigger than other full moons this year, as the moon reached its perigee or closest point in its orbit to Earth on Sunday.
We’ve collected the best photographs shared across social media of the event:
Super moon from Egypt @Razarumi #travel #nature #supermoon2014 pic.twitter.com/hpLM0lJp60
— Farhan Khan Virk (@FarhanKVirk) August 9, 2014
[Espectacular!]عشاق الفلك يرصدون الان ظاهرة #القمر_العملاق #supermoon كل واحد يجهز عدسته و يلقطه لنا صورة للقمر من منطقته pic.twitter.com/v1wQo3hzRP
— Blue_Star (@true_root) August 11, 2014
#supermoon #superluna en Santo Domingo pic.twitter.com/wW4bTDZOph
— Misael Rincon (@MisaelRincon) August 11, 2014
Simply Super: The supermoon captured over Mount Rainier. #SuperMoon2014 Credit: Tommy McPharlin /@KING5Seattle pic.twitter.com/vMbkhNP7MJ
— Sean Gardner (@2morrowknight) July 13, 2014
Where's your favorite place to watch the moon rise? #supermoon2014 #JoshuaTree pic.twitter.com/k8h7UTUTWp
— Joshua Tree NPS (@JoshuaTreeNP) August 11, 2014
#Supermoon2014 via @KCAlfredPhoto. Taken w/ iPhone through 900mm telescope. SO. GOOD. pic.twitter.com/UyikUXss9d
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) August 11, 2014
Sorry, a little late. This was the #HuffPostSupermoon from Morton Grove, Illinois pic.twitter.com/t7Z7wGkMJj
— Matthew B DeLeon (@MatthewBDeLeon) August 10, 2014
My shot last night wasn't the REAL #supermoon2014. These are from 8:43p-8:51p from Melbourne, FL #HuffPostSupermoon pic.twitter.com/utTkfhSyva
— Mike Seeley (@Mike_Seeley) August 11, 2014
This supermoon photo was sent to us by Fadli Rozi. It was taken on Urumbi Hill in Kambah. That's his wife in the shot pic.twitter.com/dYRsGopA6Y
— Henry Belot (@Henry_Belot) August 10, 2014
More pictures from the #supermoon2014 #SuperLuna2014
Even from behind the clouds, #supermoon2014 is shining exceptionally bright tonight! pic.twitter.com/mJTC3j7KaN
— A Stitching Odyssey (@StitchOdyssey) August 10, 2014
The best of the best from tonight's #Supermoon: http://t.co/KetVlg60X1 #supermoon2014 pic.twitter.com/NMwMBG2hL4
— Google Lunar XPRIZE (@glxp) August 10, 2014
A "supermoon" rises over Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last night pic.twitter.com/kyMTpFVYPI
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) August 11, 2014
ITN cameraman @DanTVusa captures #Supermoon over New York skyline http://t.co/hpqDbXQIMj pic.twitter.com/mxghL11nyp
— ITV News (@itvnews) August 11, 2014
Calling all Super Moon fans to get a CLOSER look! SEE here: http://t.co/vVtYIrfbAf #supermoon2014 #supermoon pic.twitter.com/8Jbc905Th0
— EconomicTimes (@EconomicTimes) August 11, 2014
Supermoon and Perseids meteor shower offer divine heavenly show http://t.co/58aoDU2BI2 #supermoon2014 pic.twitter.com/oXiVclsnAX
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 11, 2014
Astronaut Corey S. Powell even captured a picture of the Supermoon from aboard the International Space Station (ISS):
The setting of the supermoon…seen from space, aboard the #ISS. http://t.co/0zIfj7qfHC via @OlegMKS pic.twitter.com/Wddq7lm0gR
— Corey S. Powell (@coreyspowell) August 10, 2014