Supermoon Appears in New Zealand Skies

New Zealand was the first country in the world to see the dramatic supermoon.

On Sunday, the full moon reached the point in its orbit that is closest to the Earth, known as perigee.

The Guardian featured a photo of the perigee moon rising over Mount Eden in Auckland.

New Zealand had one of the best views of the supermoon as unfortunately fog and cloud prevented some nations from experiencing the full impact of the moon.

Nasa scientists say the perigee full moon appears about 14% larger and 30% brighter than a regular full moon.

While this isn’t the first such event to occur this year, Nasa scientist Noah Petro told Space.com that this is “superest supermoon” because it is slightly closer to the Earth.

At perigee, the moon is around 31,000 miles closer than when it is furthest away from the Earth.

Supermoons occur relatively often, every 13 months and 18 days, but are not always noticed because of clouds or poor weather.

See more photos on The Guardian of the supermoon lighting up the skies.

Photograph: Simon Runting/REX

Original story posted on The Guardian.