When the moon reaches its perigee — the closest point to Earth of its elliptical orbit — at the same time as a full moon occurs, observers are treated to something special: a 'supermoon', which appears much larger in the sky than usual.
Nation Geographic dubbed this weekend's an 'extra-supermoon' because it was the largest and brightest of the year.
It appeared 16 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than in January when it was at its apogee, or point furthest away from Earth.
Sunday's supermoon was snapped by observers all over the country and shared on social media.
Cooooool! #supermoon http://t.co/YPMnCnHuqi pic.twitter.com/exw8KYHrcp
— ruben perez yanes (@ruben_py) August 10, 2014
#SuperLuna sobre el Área de Negocios Cuatro Torres en Madrid, #España 10 de agosto 2014 #foto Sergio Pérez pic.twitter.com/yEKoTePXos
— Meteo – Estacion bcp (@Estacion_bcp) August 11, 2014
This is a beaut. Spanish fighting bull staring at supermoon in Santa Maria, Spain. pic.twitter.com/47FNk3DPqx
— thisisabz (@thisisabz) August 11, 2014
Enjoying the #supermoon from our rooftop in Seville, Spain. pic.twitter.com/juui7FqAtd
— Cory Lewandowski (@CoryLew) August 11, 2014
Roger Viveé/Flickr
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