First Supermoon of 2023 Thrills Skywatchers

Next two Supermoons will occur in August.

First Supermoon of 2023 Thrills Skywatchers
July’s Buck Supermoon is the first of four supermoons this year. STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty Images

The first supermoon of 2023 illuminated the sky all over the world Monday (July 3), inspiring photographers and skywatchers to witness the phenomenon.

July's big full moon is called Buck Moon after the buck deer, which grow their antlers this month. The moon rose at 19:10 EDT (23:10 UTC) on Monday in New York and set at 04:33 (08:33 UTC) the next day as the US was waking up to celebrate the Fourth of July.

The moon's distance that night was 361,934km away from Earth, 22,466km closer, 5.8% bigger, and 12.8% brighter than the usual full moon.

Gary Hershom caught the Buck Supermoon glowing in orange and red above New York as it lit the copper torch of the Statue of Liberty.

Another image taken from New York showed the supermoon shrouded by dark clouds as it shone over the city skyline with the Statue of Liberty gazing over it.

There were also spectacular images of the full moon above cities across the world as well, such as in London, Paris, Manila, and even in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

But not all places in the world were lucky to see the supermoon, as most of Australia was covered with cloudy skies and rain, the ABC reported.

The next supermoon will occur on August 1 in the form of the Sturgeon Moon, and a second full moon would occur that month, when the Blue Moon rises on August 30.

The final supermoon of 2023 would happen on September 28 in the form of the Corn Moon.

Tags
Moon, Supermoon, Full-moon
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