Photos of the Super Harvest Moon and Lunar Eclipse, September 2024

This week’s super harvest moon and partial lunar eclipse were photographed by photographers around the world, who were keen to capture the beauty of the bright moon in the evening sky.

The full moon on September 17/18, 2024 was a supermoon, a harvest moon, and a partial lunar eclipse, making it a spectacular sight for those with clear skies and able to get outside and observe it.

The term “Harvest Moon” is an informal nickname for the full moon closest to the vernal equinox in September, and was historically named because of its proximity to harvest time.

The term “supermoon” is the informal term for what is astronomically called a “perigee moon,” that is, the moon at its closest point to Earth in its orbit (perigee), and is one of three celestial bodies in alignment (conjunction), in this case the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Technically, supermoons may be larger than a “regular” full moon, but the difference in apparent size is so small that it is imperceptible to the human eye.

However, the supermoon is a common phenomenon all over the world, as seeing a large, bright full moon in the sky is always magical, whether the moon is at perigee or not.

But to crown this week’s super harvest moon, in the early hours of September 18, the full moon underwent a partial lunar eclipse, with the Earth’s shadow casting over a small portion of the moon’s surface, causing a slight dimming effect.