PHOTOGRAPHER:
Charles Rex Arbogast/The Associated Press
A rare Blue Supermoon rises over Lake Michigan as spectators watch from Chicago's 31st Street beach Wednesday, Aug. 30. The cosmic curtain rose Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month, the reason it is considered blue. It's dubbed a supermoon because it's closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.
A rare blue supermoon — the closest full moon of the year — dazzled stargazers Wednesday night.
Saturn joined the celestial spectacle, visible alongside the moon, at least where skies were clear.
It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label. And it was unusually close to Earth, therefore a supermoon.
The moon appeared to be bigger and brighter than usual, given its close proximity to Earth: just 222,043 miles or so. The Aug. 1 supermoon was more than 100 miles farther away.
If you missed it, it will be a long wait: The next blue supermoon isn’t until 2037. But another regular supermoon is on the horizon at the end of September, the last one of the year.
The following images — in the gallery and individually below — are provided by the Associated Press.
Photos (10)
Individual images:
The blue supermoon rises behind a thick layer of clouds near a statue of the angel Moroni perched atop The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Wednesday, Aug. 30 in Kensington, Md. The cosmic curtain rose Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month, the reason it is considered blue. It’s dubbed a supermoon because it’s closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A rare Blue Supermoon rises over Lake Michigan as spectators watch from Chicago’s 31st Street beach Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The moon known as blue moon rises behind the small village of Ujue, northern Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Akıncı unmanned aerial craft passing in front of the Supermoon during a demonstration flight on the first day of Teknofest technology and aerospace festival in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
The August Super Blue Moon sets behind a historical building and the St. Basil’s Cathedral, right, as people walk in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
The supermoon rises behind the ancient temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, about 70 kilometers south of Athens, Greece, Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The supermoon rises near the equestrian statue of Damdin Sukhbaatar on Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Wednesday, Aug. 30. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The blue supermoon sets over the White Mountain National Forest at sunrise, Thursday, Aug. 31 in Carroll County, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A supermoon rises over a headstone at a cemetery in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Aug. 31. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
A super moon rises behind Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 30 in New York. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
