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Hunter’s Moon supermoon 2024 will put on a terrifyingly good show for skywatchers around the world (Photos)

Vaseline October 18, 2024

The largest and brightest full moon of 2024 lit up Earth’s skies on Thursday (October 17), with skywatchers from around the world coming to capture the moon’s face in its full glory.

This Hunter’s “supermoon” may have been more than a week early for Halloween, but that didn’t stop it from giving off some seriously creepy vibes.

But don’t worry if Halloween isn’t your scene. The following moon images capture the moon in many of its aspects during the supermoon.

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Super moons arise because the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle around the Earth, but is instead an oval or ellipse. That means our moon companion is sometimes closer to Earth, reaching its closest point to us at what is known as perigee. Other times it is further away, during what is known as its peak. When the moon is close to perigee during a full moon, it is a supermoon.

On Thursday, as the full moon rose, the moon arrived at its closest point to Earth, just 357,174 km away. There have been two supermoons so far in 2024, in August and September, and there will be another in November, but October’s Hunter’s supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2024. That’s because this is the closest thing to a perigee to a full moon. .

In the following image, the Hunter supermoon is seen through the branches of a tree in Gaiberg near Heidelberg, southwestern Germany, by Daniel Roland.

Related: Supermoon Blue Moon 2024: Top photos from around the world

A bright silver sphere shrouded in dark branches

Branches of a tree are pictured in front of a so-called Supermoon in the night sky over Gaiberg near Heidelberg, southwestern Germany on October 17, 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images/DANIEL ROLAND/AFP)

The Hunter’s supermoon was suitably imposing and Kaiju-like, as seen in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as captured by Mert Alper Dervis. If you look closely, you’ll see a helicopter flying over the bright yellow moon’s surface, emphasizing its monstrous manifestation.

An orange sphere above gold and silver buildings against a dark blue background

A helicopter flies in front of the full moon in Toronto, Ontario on October 17, 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images/Alper Dervis/Anadolu)

The following image, taken by Selcuk Acar of Manhatten, shows the yellow and bright Hunter’s moon setting next to New York’s famous Chrysler Building, barely visible in the dark sky.

An orange orb next to a dark, barely lit spire

Hunter’s October 2024 full moon next to the Chrysler Building in New York. (Image credit: Getty Images/Selcuk Acar/Anadolu)

Also taken in New York, this photo of the supermoon, captured by Gary Hershorn, shows it in truly imposing style, framed behind the Edge NYC outdoor observation deck at Hudson Yards.

An orange sphere, partially blocked by a dark triangle formed by a ridge

The October Hunter supermoon next to the EdgeNYC outdoor observation deck at Hudson Yards. (Image credit: Getty Images/Gary Hershorn)

Photographer Joshua Mellin shared an image of the supermoon peaking through Chicago’s buildings on his X-feed (formerly Twitter). The photo of the lemon-colored moon was captured Friday morning.

🌕 Super moon over Chicago at sunrise this morning https://t.co/UCtIo9tvWM pic.twitter.com/tK42798BT3October 17, 2024

Photographer Andrew McCarthy captured an incredibly detailed image of the Hunter’s supermoon. He shared the photo on his X feed and wrote: “If you look at the horizon tonight at sunset you will see the Hunter’s Supermoon rising. The full moon is at perigee, which means it is closer to Earth than normal and will appear brighter. and bigger in the air. This is a photo of it I took this morning!”

If you look at the horizon tonight at sunset, you will see the Hunter’s Super Moon rising. The full moon is at perigee, which means it is closer to Earth than normal, and will appear brighter and larger in the sky. This is a photo of it I took this morning! pic.twitter.com/uTa30E0MuoOctober 17, 2024

The official X-feed of Stonehenge shared an incredible image of the moon as it fell beneath the monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, on Friday morning. Nick Bull took the photo, which shows the moon looking big and orange like a pumpkin waiting to be carved.

The Full Hunter Supermoon behind Stonehenge this morning 🏹🌕🌙😍The full moon in October is also known as the “hunter moon” 📸 credit Nick Bull 🙏#fullmoon #supermoon #supermoon2024 #moon #stonehenge pic.twitter.com/uSHQ5OZqcJOctober 17, 2024

A video shot by radio DJ Jimmy Stafford in Donegal, Ireland, also showed the supermoon taking over the Halloween spirit, this time shrouded in an ominous mist. The video was posted to Stafford’s X-feed.

That’s an incredible #supermoon tonight #Donegal pic.twitter.com/Q1tsPcRwcpOctober 17, 2024

In a shot that would put a classic Hammer Horror film to shame, Zhang Zhenqi captured the Hunter’s supermoon eerily illuminating Jiangzi Zongshan Castle in Shigatse, China’s Xizang Autonomous Region.

There is no way your horse and carriage driver will take you straight to the castle gate!

A glowing orange orb appears above a castle on the top of a hill

The Hunter’s Moon rises in the sky over Jiangzi Zongshan Castle in Shigatse, Xizang Autonomous Region on October 17, 2024, as photographed by Zhang Zhenqi. (Image credit: Getty Images/Zhang Zhenqi/VCG)

In a similar vein, but this time a little closer to Transylvania, home to Castle Dracula and the infamous count of the same name, Pradeep Dambarage captured this ghostly image of the supermoon over Linköping, Sweden.

You can almost hear the villagers frantically nailing garlic bulbs over their doors and windows!

A yellow sphere behind a dark bell tower

The Hunter’s Supermoon is visible in the sky in Linköping, Sweden on October 17, 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images/Pradeep Dambarage/NurPhoto)

If all these eerie moon images are a bit much, let’s visit the bright lights of Suzhou, China’s Jiangsu province, in this sharp and colorful photo taken by Guan Yunan.

A silver sphere above a city illuminated with neon pink, yellow and blue hues

An image of the October 2024 Hunter’s supermoon above the bright city lights of Suzhou, China’s Jiangsu province. (Image credit: Getty Images/Guan Yunan)

To spice things up a bit is this image of the supermoon looming behind a Ferris wheel in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. The red-orange candy corn-colored moon was photographed by Wang Qingwu.

A deep orange sphere behind a round steel structure with silver spokes

The Hunter’s Moon rises into the sky over a Ferris wheel in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China on October 17, 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images/Wang Qingwu/VCG)

Fun was also on the agenda for Emin Menguarslan, who captured this image of the Hunter’s supermoon above an amusement park at Kultu Park in the Konak district of Izmir, Turkiye.

A yellow sphere in the sky above amusement rides illuminated with green lights

October’s supermoon will rise over the Kultupark amusement park in the Konak district of Izmir, Turkiye on October 17, 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images/Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu)

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the super moon appeared over the Maracana Stadium as Flamengo played Fluminense in the Brasileirao 2024 football competition. While the other spectators focused on the action, which ended 0-2 to Fluminense, Ruano Carneiro had one eye on aimed at the moon when they captured this image.

A small orange sphere above a curved football stadium

The Hunter’s supermoon passes by during a football match between Lamengo and Fluminense as part of Brasileirao 2024 at Maracana Stadium on October 17, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Image credit: Getty Images/Ruano Carneiro)

The next full moon, the Beaver Moon, will rise around sunset on November 15 before setting at sunrise the next morning. Like October’s Hunter’s Moon, it will also be a supermoon.

If these images make you want to take your own moon images, like a freshly turned vampire thirsty for a pint of O negative, then our guide to the best telescopes for beginners can help you find what you need. And if something portable is your preference, check out our best binoculars guide.

Editor’s note: If you take a beautiful photo of the Full Hunter’s Supermoon and would like to share it with Space.com, please submit images and comments to our skywatching inbox at [email protected].

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Hunter’s Moon supermoon 2024 will put on a terrifyingly good show for skywatchers around the world (Photos)

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Hunter’s Moon supermoon 2024 will put on a terrifyingly good show for skywatchers around the world (Photos)

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