Stunning photos of supermoon over New Zealand

A stunning supermoon lit up New Zealand's sky overnight, and Kiwis had their cameras poised to capture the rare event.

The supermoon phenomenon, which was at its brightest at 8:30pm on Tuesday, occurs when the moon is at its closest point to the earth while it is a full moon.

Kathy Campbell, a University of Auckland astrobiologist, told The AM Show the moon was 14 percent bigger than usual and 30 percent brighter.

"It's when the moon's orbit, which is elliptical rather than a sphere or a circle, is closer to the earth," said Ms Campbell.

Stardome Observatory astronomer Josh Kirkley said that an unobstructed view east provided the greatest shot of the supermoon, with the astronomer taking multiple pictures of it from Mount Roskill looking east towards One Tree Hill.

Stunning photos of supermoon over New Zealand
Photo credit: Josh Kirkley

"It's a composite showing the movement and colour change of the moon while it was rising," he told Newshub.

Stunning photos of supermoon over New Zealand
Photo credit: Josh Kirkley
Stunning photos of supermoon over New Zealand
Photo credit: Josh Kirkley
The moon from Atawhai, Nelson.
The moon from Atawhai, Nelson. Photo credit: Kevin Nansett
The moon from Hawera.
The moon from Hawera. Photo credit: Tanita Panton

Others took to social media to share their shots, with many commenting that the clear sky made it easier to see than a blood moon last year, which was largely hidden by cloud.

The Facebook page 'Papamoa, New Zealand' shared a montage of shots that it had received from people in the Chatham Islands, Hamilton, Tauranga, Papamoa and other New Zealand location

While Ms Campbell said supermoons only typically grace our skies every seven to fifteen years, there will be another on Thursday night.

Newshub.