Photos: Rare super blue moon rises and lights up skies worldwide

The next blue supermoon is not until 2037. But another regular supermoon is on the horizon at the end of September.

The blue supermoon, the second full moon of a calendar month, rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul. [Yasin Akgul/AFP]

A rare blue supermoon – the closest full moon of the year – dazzled stargazers around the world on Wednesday night.

A supermoon is broadly defined as a full moon that is closer to the Earth than normal. That makes it appear slightly brighter and bigger in the sky. It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label – “blue moon” is the term applied when a full moon is seen twice in a single month.

Saturn joined the celestial spectacle, visible alongside the moon, at least where the skies were clear.

The last time two full supermoons were seen in the same month was in 2018.

The next blue supermoon is not until 2037, but another regular supermoon is on the horizon at the end of September and will be the last one this year.

People watch a supermoon rise above Lisbon, Portugal. [Armando Franca/AP]

The super blue moon is seen over Havana, Cuba. [Yamil Lage/AFP]

A view shows a full moon over de city of Porto Alegres, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. [Diego Vara/Reuters]

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. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP]