Last night, and later tonight, skywatchers around the world will be treated to views of this year's so-called "supermoon," the largest full moon of the year. Today, on November 14, at 6:20 am Eastern time, the moon approached within 356,500 km (221,500 mi) of Earth, in what is scientifically known as a perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system (perigee: closest point of an elliptical orbit; syzygy: straight line made of three bodies in a gravitational system). Though the moon does appear larger than normal, the size difference is so small that a casual observer would probably never notice. Nonetheless, photographers across the globe set out to capture the event, and collected here are 21 of the most super images of this year's supermoon. If your skies are clear, be sure to look up around moonrise tonight.
Supermoon 2016
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The supermoon rises behind the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft, ahead of its upcoming launch to the International Space Station (ISS), at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 14, 2016. #
Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters -
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Surf breaks as the moon makes its closest orbit to the Earth since 1948 on November 14, 2016 in Redondo Beach, California. The so-called supermoon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as it comes about 22,000 miles closer to the Earth than average, though to the casual observer, the increase appears slight. #
David McNew / Getty
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