A super moon rises over the Longquan Mountain Observation Deck on August 19, 2024 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. The biggest and brightest full moon of 2024 rises on August 19, lights up the night skies across China. (Yang Qitian/VCG via Getty Images)
If the moon seemed extra bright Monday night, that’s because it was — in fact, it was the biggest and brightest moon of the year.
The lunar spectacle was the product of two celestial events coming together: A blue moon, and a supermoon, a combined phenomenon that won’t be seen again until 2037. A blue moon is a seasonal or monthly full moon, while a supermoon occurs when a full moon orbits closer to earth than normal.
The blue supermoon is expected to be visible until Wednesday, so if you missed it Monday night, you still have chances to view it this week. Below are photos from Monday.
A super moon rises over the Leifeng Pagoda in West Lake Sudi on August 19, 2024 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. (Xu Yan/Zhejiang Daily Press Group/VCG via Getty Images)
People view the moon as it rises, with a red glow attributable to smoke particles carried in the upper atmosphere from North American wildfires, a day ahead of the full super moon, at Parliament Hill in London, Britain, August 18, 2024. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
A rare blue supermoon appears in the night sky over Sydney on August 19, 2024. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
A sturgeon moon, the first Supermoon of the year, rises next to the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore August 19, 2024. (Edgar Su/Reuters)
An aircraft passes in front of the moon, with a red glow attributable to smoke particles carried in the upper atmosphere from North American wildfires, a day ahead of the full super moon, as seen from Parliament Hill in London, Britain, August 18, 2024. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Khalil Hamra/Reuters)
The first ”supermoon” of 2024 is rising on the evening of August 19, 2024, in Yichang, Hubei Province, China. (Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A supermoon, known as the blue moon and “Sturgeon Moon”, rises over the Alexander Nevsky cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria, August 19, 2024. (Spasiyana Sergieva/Reuters)
A supermoon rises over a residential building in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Pavel Bednyakov/AP)
Two women watch a nearly full supermoon rise over the Tagus River from the roof of the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology in Lisbon, Portugal on August 18 2024. (Armando Franca/AP)
People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Richard Vogel/AP)
The sun sets as Shiite pilgrims march on their way to Karbala for Arbaeen in Babil, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Hadi Mizban/AP)
A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330 in Star Alliance livery, approaches for landing in Lisbon, with a supermoon in the background, at sunrise Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. (Armando Franca/AP)
People gather to watch the Supermoon, known as the blue moon and “Sturgeon Moon”, in White Sand National Park near Alamogordo, New Mexico on August 19, 2024. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)
