Supermoon Captured: The Best Shots of Biggest Full Moon in 2013

Skypark Moon

 
Photograph by Cheng Kiang Ng, National Geographic Your Shot

If you looked at the full moon in this photo taken over the weekend at the tip of the Marina Bay Sands Skypark in Singapore and thought, “Gee, that full moon looks bigger and brighter than normal,” you would have been correct.

The photo, snapped by Cheng Kiang Ng, was submitted to National Geographic’s Your Shot community as part of a weekend hashtag assignment called #supermoon.

On Sunday, our lunar neighbor made its closest approach to Earth for the 2013 calendar year, appearing 8 percent larger and 17 percent brighter than usual. (Read the full story of this year’s supermoon.)

At its closest, the full moon clocked in at a distance of 221,824 miles (356,991 kilometers) from Earth. That’s a bit closer than the typical distance of 226,179 miles (364,000 kilometers).

But what a difference it made.

“We saw it from the field with fireflies and hay bales. It bleached out the stars,” tweeted one poetic fan.

Others used the supermoon as a way to reflect.

“My cat is sad because yesterday’s supermoon caused him to contemplate our galaxy’s vastness his smallness within it,” tweeted @MySadCat.

Some also marked the occasion by taking photos of the moon in spots all over the world. Hundreds of you submitted your supermoon photos to National Geographic’s Your Shot photo gallery. We’ve rounded up some of our favorites for your enjoyment but would love to see more. If you have a picture of the supermoon and would like to submit it to National Geographic’s Your Shot, our editors will consider adding it to this gallery. Please include the hashtag #supermoon.

—Melody Kramer

Published June 24, 2013

Supermoon Captured: The Best Shots of Biggest Full Moon in 2013