The largest and brightest full moon of 2024 lit up the skies of Earth on Thursday (Oct. 17), with skywatchers across the globe on hand to capture the lunar face in its full glory.
This Hunter's "supermoon" may have been over a week early for Halloween, but that wasn't going to stop it from putting out some seriously spooky vibes.
But don't worry if Halloween isn't your scene. The following lunar images capture the moon in many of its aspects during the supermoon event.
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Supermoons happen because the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle around Earth but is instead an oval, or ellipse. That means that sometimes our lunar companion is closer to Earth, reaching its closest point to us in what is known as perigee. Other times, it is further away, during what is known as its apogee. When the moon is close to perigee during a full moon, that's a supermoon.
On Thursday, as the full moon rose, the moon arrived at its closest point to Earth, sitting at just 221,938 miles (357,174 km) away. There have been two supermoons in 2024 thus far, in August and September, and there will be another in November, but October's Hunter's supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2024. That's because this is the closest occurrence of a perigee to a full moon.
In the following image, the Hunter's supermoon is seen through the branches of a tree in Gaiberg near Heidelberg, southwestern Germany, by Daniel Roland.
Related: Supermoon Blue Moon 2024: Top photos from around the world
The Hunter's supermoon was suitably imposing and Kaiju-like, as seen in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, as it was imaged by Mert Alper Dervis. Look closely, and you will see a helicopter crossing the bright yellow lunar face, highlighting its monster-sized manifestation.
The following image taken over Manhatten by Selcuk Acar shows the yellow and bright Hunter's moon setting next to New York's famous Chrysler Building, which is barely visible in the dark sky.
Also taken in New York, this image of the supermoon captured by Gary Hershorn shows it in a truly imposing style framed behind the Edge NYC outdoor observation deck at Hudson Yards.
Space.com's own Josh Dinner caught the full moon above Bloomington, Indiana on Oct. 18, 2024 just after sunrise as the moon set behind the Monroe County courthouse.
Space.com reader Robbie Pesiwarissa caught this photo of a laughing kookaburra, a bird native to Eastern Mainland Australia. "This Cute Kookaburra was resting on the tree branch with the beautiful Hunter Supermoon shining in the background," Pesiwarissa wrote.
Photographer Joshua Mellin shared an image of the supermoon peaking through the buildings of Chicago to his X (formerly Twitter) feed. The picture of the lemon-tinged moon was captured on Friday morning.
🌕 Supermoon over Chicago at sunrise this morning https://t.co/UCtIo9tvWM pic.twitter.com/tK42798BT3October 17, 2024
Photographer Andrew McCarthy captured an incredibly detailed image of the Hunter's supermoon. He shared the photo on his X feed, writing: "If you look to the horizon at sunset tonight, you’ll see the Hunter's Supermoon rising. The full moon is at perigee, which means it's closer to Earth than usual and will appear brighter and larger in the sky. This is a photo of it I captured of it this morning!"
If you look to the horizon at sunset tonight, you’ll see the Hunter’s Supermoon rising. The full moon is at perigee, which means it’s closer to Earth than usual, and will appear brighter and larger in the sky. This is a photo of it I captured of it this morning! pic.twitter.com/uTa30E0MuoOctober 17, 2024
The official X feed of Stonehenge shared an incredible image of the moon as it fell below the monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, on Friday morning. Nick Bull took the image, which shows the moon looking huge and orange-hued like a pumpkin waiting to be carved.
The Full Hunter's Supermoon setting behind Stonehenge this morning 🏹🌕🌙😍The full moon in October is also known as the “hunter’s moon” 📸 credit Nick Bull 🙏#fullmoon #supermoon #supermoon2024 #moon #stonehenge pic.twitter.com/uSHQ5OZqcJOctober 17, 2024
A video captured by radio DJ Jimmy Stafford in Donegal, the Republic of Ireland, also showed the supermoon adopting the Halloween spirit, this time shrouded in an ominous fog. The video was posted to Stafford's X feed.
That’s an incredible #supermoon tonight #Donegal pic.twitter.com/Q1tsPcRwcpOctober 17, 2024
In a shot that would put a classic Hammer Horror film to shame, Zhang Zhenqi caught the Hunter's supermoon creepily illuminating Jiangzi Zongshan Castle in Shigatse, Xizang Autonomous Region of China.
No way your horse and coach driver is taking you right up to those castle gates!
Along the same lines, but this time a little closer to Transylvania, the home of Castle Dracula and the infamous count of the same name, Pradeep Dambarage captured this spooky image of the supermoon over Linkoping, Sweden.
You can almost hear the villagers frantically nailing bulbs of garlic over their doors and windows!
If all these creepy lunar images are a bit much, let's pay a visit to the bright lights of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province of China, in this sharp and colorful image taken by Guan Yunan.
Injecting a little more fun into proceedings is this image of the supermoon looming behind a Ferris wheel in Foshan, Guangdong Province of China. The reddy-orange candy corn-colored moon was photographed by Wang Qingwu.
Fun was also on the agenda for Emin Menguarslan who captured this image of the Hunter's supermoon over an amusement park at Kultupark in Konak district of Izmir, Turkiye.
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the supermoon appeared over the Maracana Stadium as Flamengo played Fluminense in the Brasileirao 2024 soccer competition. While the other spectators focused on the action, which ended 0-2 to Fluminense, Ruano Carneiro had one eye on the moon as they captured this image.
The next full moon, the Beaver moon, will rise on Nov. 15 at and around sunset, before setting at sunrise the following morning. Like October's Hunter's moon it will also be a supermoon.
If these images have got you craving to catch your own lunar images like a freshly turned vampire thristing after a pint of O-negative, our best telescopes for beginners guide can help you find what you need. And if something more portable is your preference, check our our best binoculars guide.
Editor's note: If you take a stunning photo of the Full Hunter's Supermoon and want to share it with Space.com, send images and comments to our skywatching inbox at spacephotos@space.com.
