Dramatic photos of the harvest supermoon and partial lunar eclipse
The skies lighted up Tuesday night with a double lunar phenomenon: the harvest supermoon and a partial lunar eclipse.
Supermoons are full moons that appear larger because they happen roughly in tandem with the lunar orbit's closest approach to Earth, known as perigee.
According to NASA, that means the moon looked 30% brighter and 14% larger than when the moon's orbit is at its farthest from us, or apogee.
Read more: August to kick off four straight months of supermoons. When to enjoy the spectacles
Tuesday's supermoon was a harvest supermoon because it was the full moon that appeared closest to the fall equinox. The name goes back hundreds of years, when farmers would sometimes use the moon’s light to work later in the evening.
But bright skies were not the only sight viewers may have noticed.
The full moon — the second in four consecutive months of supermoons — coincided with a partial lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow on the moon.
Read more: Corn, strawberry, sturgeon? Why are we suddenly obsessed with the names of full moons?
In this case, about 3.5% of the moon appeared darkened by the Earth’s umbra, a term that describes the darkest segment of the Earth’s shadow.
Unlike with the solar eclipse in April, no special glasses are necessary to safely look at a lunar eclipse.
In Southern California, the moon rose at 6:52 p.m. The Earth's biggest bite appeared at 7:44 p.m. and gradually dissipated over 31 minutes. By 9:48 p.m., the moon was at its brightest.
Read more: 8 L.A. night hikes to escape the heat and experience awe
Tuesday’s moon followed the Aug. 19 super blue moon. A blue moon does not describe the color of the moon; instead, it refers to the third full moon occurring in a season with four full moons.
Experts tend to consider supermoons as those that fall within 90% of the moon’s closest approach to Earth.
The August supermoon was about 224,000 miles from Earth. This month’s was a little closer: 222,000 miles away.
The next supermoons are Oct. 17 and Nov. 15.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
