Rare supermoon partial eclipse seen across the East of England

18 Sep 2024

Julie Kemp

The supermoon reached its peak at about 03:45 BST

Supermoon - Figure 1
Photo BBC News

A partial eclipse of the supermoon was visible across the East of England on Tuesday night.

This month's full moon, known as the Harvest moon, is the second of four supermoons expected this year.

Full supermoons occur when the orbit of the moon is at "perigee" - the closest point to Earth in its orbit - which makes the Moon appear bigger and brighter in the night sky.

Partial lunar eclipses do not happen very often. The next one is due in August 2026, and will see about 96% of the Moon in shadow.

Supermoon - Figure 2
Photo BBC News

The harvest moon is the name given to the full moon that occurs nearest to the autumn equinox, which this year occurs on 22 September.

October's hunter moon and November's beaver moon will also be supermoons this year.

If you capture any great images of the eclipse, or any other weather events, you can upload them to BBC Weather Watchers here.

This month's full moon, known as the Harvest moon, is the second of four supermoons this year

Alfie Cole captured this view of the supermoon from Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire

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