The full harvest supermoon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York City on Sept. 17. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
A fall harvest supermoon put on a rare celestial show Tuesday when it also created a partial lunar eclipse for skygazers around the world.
The bright harvest supermoon — a full moon that happens around the autumnal equinox — entered Earth’s shadow around 10:13 p.m. ET, according to NASA, and peaked at its fullest at 10:35 p.m. ET, but will appear through Thursday morning.
The eclipse reached its darkest phase around 10:44 p.m. ET when the full moon was partially covered by the umbra, which is the Earth’s darkest shadow. NASA said the spectacle looks like the shadow is taking “a bite out” of part of the moon. The moon exited the Earth’s shadow at 11:16 p.m. ET.
The harvest moon usually happens around Sept. 22 or 23 each year. Supermoons occur three to four times a year and appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter at its closest point to Earth than when it’s farthest away from Earth. People can also view partial lunar eclipses at least twice a year. But seeing all three celestial events together is rare.
The rare sky show was visible over much of North and South America, as well as Asia, Africa and Europe.
The next lunar eclipse — a total lunar eclipse — is set to take place March 13-14, 2025, according to Space.com.
Here’s a look at Tuesday evening’s rare supermoon lunar eclipse.
A supermoon rises behind clouds over Larnaca international airport in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Tueasday Sept. 17. (Petros Karadjias/AP)
Cormorants are silhouetted against the full moon in Qiqihar, China, on Tuesday. (Wang Yonggang/Xinhua via AP)
The moon rises through clouds over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Camden, Maine, on Tuesday. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)
The full moon rises behind the Nanjing Yuejiang Tower in Nanjing, China on Tuesday. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
People look at the full moon at the Samalayuca Dunes near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Tuesday. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)
A harvest supermoon rises over a lighthouse in Scituate, Mass., on Tuesday. (Lauren Owens Lambert/Reuters)
A supermoon rises behind a horse statue atop of Triumphal Arc during a partial lunar eclipse in Moscow on Wednesday. (Pavel Bednyakov/AP)
Partial lunar eclipse is seen near the Kremlin and Russia’s Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Wednesday. (Marina Lystseva/Reuters)
Climbers are silhouetted against the full moon near the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia on Tuesday. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
A supermoon rises behind Camlica tower in Istanbul on Tuesday. (Khalil Hamra/AP)
A partial eclipse darkens a rising supermoon in Nashville on Tuesday. (George Walker IV/AP)
The supermoon rises beyond the cross atop Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Catholic Cathedral, in Beirut on Tuesday. (Hassan AmmarAP)
The full harvest moon rises over “The Couple” sculpture at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, England, on Tuesday. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
The supermoon in North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne, Germany on Wednesday. (Thomas Banneyer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
An angel weather vane atop a spire of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, is silhouetted by the rising full moon, on Tuesday, in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
The moon rises over Fingal Bay in Port Stephens north of Sydney on Wednesday. (Mark Baker/AP)
Miranda Moyer is a writer for The Newspring, and she covers arts, construction, automotive, travel, real estate, and fashion. She has also written on a variety of other topics ranging from travel to food and drink to home improvement.
