Supermoon 2016

Alan Taylor
November 14, 2016
21 Photos
In Focus

Last night, and later tonight, skywatchers around the world will be treated to views of this year's so-called "supermoon," the largest full moon of the year. Today, on November 14, at 6:20 am Eastern time, the moon approached within 356,500 km (221,500 mi) of Earth, in what is scientifically known as a perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system (perigee: closest point of an elliptical orbit; syzygy: straight line made of three bodies in a gravitational system). Though the moon does appear larger than normal, the size difference is so small that a casual observer would probably never notice. Nonetheless, photographers across the globe set out to capture the event, and collected here are 21 of the most super images of this year's supermoon. If your skies are clear, be sure to look up around moonrise tonight.

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Crowds look on as the supermoon rises behind the Fremantle War Memorial at Monument Hill on November 14, 2016 in Fremantle, Australia. #

Paul Kane / Getty

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The supermoon sets behind the Philadelphia skyline on Monday, November 14, 2016. #

Joseph Kaczmarek / AP

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The moon rises behind the mountain range seen from Naypyitaw, Burma, on November 14, 2016. #

Aung Shine Oo / AP

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People on a funfair ride are silhouetted against the moon a day before the "supermoon" spectacle, in London, England, on November 13, 2016. #

Neil Hall / Reuters

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The supermoon rises behind the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft, ahead of its upcoming launch to the International Space Station (ISS), at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 14, 2016. #

Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

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An American Airlines passenger plane passes in front of the moon, as seen from Whittier, California, on November 13, 2016. #

Nick Ut / AP

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A supermoon rises at sunset over lower Manhattan in New York City on November 13, 2016 as seen from Watchung, New Jersey. #

Gary Hershorn / Getty

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A "supermoon" is seen beyond decorative lights in Hong Kong on November 14, 2016. #

Anthony Wallace / AFP / Getty

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The supermoon appears behind a statue on the roof of the Opera House in Hanoi, Vietnam, on November 14, 2016. #

Hau Dinh / AP

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The moon sets behind people fishing on a pier during its closest orbit to the Earth since 1948 on November 14, 2016 in Redondo Beach, California. #

David McNew / Getty

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The Supermoon goes down behind the spire of the Empire State Building the morning of November 14, 2016 in New York. #

Don Emmert / AFP / Getty

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The moon rises behind the Dorje Lakpa Mountain as Swayambhunath stupa is seen in forground in Kathmandu, Nepal, on November 14, 2016. #

Niranjan Shrestha / AP

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A father and a boy look at the supermoon in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 14, 2016. #

Jorge Silva / Reuters

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The moon rises behind the castle of Almodovar in Cordoba, southern Spain, on November 13, 2016. #

Miguel Morenatti / AP

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A tree is silhouetted as a supermoon rises over Heho, Burma's Shan state, on November 14, 2016. #

Ye Aung Thu / AFP / Getty

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The moon rises above Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 14, 2016. #

A.M. Ahad / AP

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A man stands on a balcony of a building of Madrid as the moon rises in background, on November 13, 2016. #

Gerard Julien / AFP / Getty

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The moon rises behind the Opera House on November 14, 2016, in Sydney, Australia. #

James D. Morgan / Getty

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The moon rises near Glastonbury Tor a day before the supermoon spectacle, in Glastonbury, England, on November 13, 2016. #

Rebecca Naden / Reuters

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A supermoon rises behind small sculptures standing on the roof of a tower in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, on November 14, 2016. #

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty

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Surf breaks as the moon makes its closest orbit to the Earth since 1948 on November 14, 2016 in Redondo Beach, California. The so-called supermoon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as it comes about 22,000 miles closer to the Earth than average, though to the casual observer, the increase appears slight. #

David McNew / Getty

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