Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

  • 17/10/2016
Rising from Papakura, Auckland (Leila Khan)
Rising from Papakura, Auckland (Leila Khan)

A stunning supermoon rose on Sunday night, and New Zealanders were among the first in the world to see it.

Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

The moon over Mount Mauao at Mount Maunganui (Jenny Lucey)

It was bigger and brighter than a regular full moon because the moon was at its closest approach to Earth during its oval-shaped orbit.

Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

Rising over the Waikato River, Huntly (Lynn Haumaha)

On Sunday night it was a mere 357,000km away, compared to the average distance of more than 380,000km away.

Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

Seen over Taranaki (Tanita Panton)

A supermoon can look up to 14 percent bigger than normal, and 30 percent brighter.

Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

(Derek Gerritsen) 

The best time to view it was after moonrise, when the moon just lifted above the horizon.

Photos: Supermoon rises over New Zealand

(Kane Hurst) 

Another supermoon is set to occur next month, with the moon coming marginally closer than it will tonight, and yet another in December.

Newshub.