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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Jacob Phillips

Largest and brightest supermoon of the year rises over London

Skygazers in London and across the globe were treated to the largest and brightest supermoon of the year on Thursday evening.

The huge satellite loomed over major landmarks including Stonehenge and Sydney Opera House, with thousands able to clearly see its craters.

In the capital, the moon brightly shone above Canary Wharf and appeared to peep through buildings in the City of London.

Clear photos showed the scale of the moon, as it appeared to tower over cities, dwarfing buildings.

This month's full moon, called the Hunter's Moon, is the third of four supermoons in 2024.

During this time, the Earth's natural satellite appeared to be around 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than usual.

The celestial event was visible after sunset and gradually got brighter throughout Thursday night.

Daniel Brown, associate professor in astronomy at Nottingham Trent University, said on Thursday: "The October full moon appears as the largest and brightest supermoon of the four this year, being 76km closer than last month's full moon.

"It is always exciting to notice changes in colour due to our atmosphere and explore the 'moon illusion' where the moon only seems to look huge given its proximity to the horizon, where there is context alongside buildings, trees and other features.

A bright read supermoon could be seen in Syndey, Australia (REUTERS)

"If the moon is high in the sky and you don't have that context, it seems just a distant object and much smaller."

The term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90 per cent of its closest approach to Earth.

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