CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Monday’s supermoon is the first of four this year.
During a supermoon, the full moon comes slightly closer to Earth than usual. A supermoon is not larger, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference may be barely noticeable.
The September supermoon coincides with a partial lunar eclipse. The October supermoon will be the closest moon of the year, and the November supermoon will round out the year.
A supermoon rises over a residential building in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
Residents watch the rise of the supermoon over the Memorial JK, a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Residents watch the rise of the supermoon over the Memorial JK, a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A passenger plane flies over the surface of a supermoon in the night sky over Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A cable car climbs to Sugarloaf Mountain as the supermoon rises into the night sky in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A cable car climbs to Sugarloaf Mountain as the supermoon rises into the night sky in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)
A bicycle at sunset after the rise of the supermoon next to the “Memorial JK,” a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The supermoon rises over a large screen on a building in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. The sign reads, “Don’t stop until everyone is back,” and shows photos of hostages being held by the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A cyclist rides next to the Memorial JK, a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, at sunset before the rise of the supermoon, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The supermoon rises next to the Memorial JK, a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The supermoon rises over Memorial JK, a monument honoring the founder of Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The supermoon rises over a city landmark, the ship-shaped weather vane mounted atop the Admiralty in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
The supermoon rises over a gilded bronze sculpture of a double-headed eagle, the Russian national emblem, installed on the telegraph tower of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
The moon rises over Shiite pilgrims marching to Karbala for the Arba’een ritual in Babil, Iraq, Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The sun sets as Shiite pilgrims make their way to Karbala for the Arba’een festival in Babil, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The sun sets as Shiite pilgrims make their way to Karbala for the Arba’een festival in Babil, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
The supermoon will appear behind the lights of Paris on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
The supermoon appears behind the statue on the Place de la République, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
The supermoon rises through the clouds over downtown Tallinn, Estonia, late Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The blue supermoon will rise over the Dent d’Oche mountain on Monday, August 19, 2024, as seen from Allaman, Switzerland. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP)
A so-called blue supermoon will rise over the Dent d’Oche mountain on Monday, August 19, 2024, as seen from Allaman in Switzerland. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP)
A supermoon will appear over Copenhagen on Monday, August 19, 2024. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
A plane flies past the supermoon over Copenhagen on Monday, August 19, 2024. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
The supermoon rises behind the historic site of the Pyramids of Giza near Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A man stands on the floating bridge in Zaryadye Park as the supermoon rises Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
A woman stands on the floating bridge in Zaryadye Park as the supermoon rises Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
The supermoon rises behind a thorn plant in the village of Pera Chorio Nisou on the outskirts of the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The supermoon will rise behind the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, south of Athens, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
A nearly full supermoon rises behind vegetation in Caesarea, Israel, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A supermoon rises behind the minaret of a mosque in Jerusalem on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The supermoon rises behind the Dome of the Rock on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The supermoon rises behind the Dome of the Rock on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A nearly full supermoon rises over the Beijing skyline after rain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A nearly full supermoon rises behind the 25th of April Bridge over the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal, on Sunday, August 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
The supermoon rises behind the historic site of the Pyramids of Giza near Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The supermoon rises behind a residential building in Berlin on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
A supermoon rises behind the Galata Tower in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
The supermoon rises behind the Dome of the Rock on the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A supermoon rises behind Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A nearly full supermoon rises in the sky after rain in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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A supermoon rises over a residential building in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
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A supermoon is a popular rather than scientific term. It occurs when a full phase of the moon coincides with a particularly close orbit around the Earth. This usually only happens three or four times a year, and in a row, because the moon’s oval orbit is constantly changing.
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