supermoon – Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Dartford

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A fabulous selection of Supermoon images taken on the 4th/5th December 2025. The year 2025 featured a rare series of three consecutive supermoons: the October 7th Harvest/Hunter Moon, the November 5th Beaver Moon, and the December 4th Cold Moon, where the Moon appears larger and brighter than usual. These supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the Moon being at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

For more information about the term 'Supermoon' and where Full Moon names originate; check out the following sites/pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon

https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-names

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon-names.html

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George used a Dwarf3 smartscope to take this image.

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The Moon by Diane Clarke taken using a Seestar 50 smartscope.

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The Moon taken by Neil Webster. The image is made up of 8 frames. Each 90s x 32fps. The image was taken using a AA115 APO, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI290MM, and R/IR Filter. It was processed using Firecapture, AutoStakkert, Photoshop, and Microsoft ICE. Taken from St Marys Platt, Kent, UK.

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Hunter’s Supermoon – by Honor Wheeler

4th November 2024

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| WebMistress

| 11:59 am

This is a lovely image of the largest and brightest Full Moon of 2024 that lit up the skies of Earth on the 17th Oct, taken by member Honor Wheeler from Dartford whilst waiting for the comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas to made an appearance. This Full Moon is also known as the Hunter's Supermoon. October's full Moon is called the Hunter's Moon because it occurs when hunters would traditionally have been most active.

''People in the Northern Hemisphere spent October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering, and preserving meats, giving this Full Moon its Anglo-Saxon name Hunter’s Moon. The name was added to the Farmer’s Almanac in North America and is used widely today.

Native Americans named this Full Moon after things that happen in the fall, including Drying Rice Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, and Freezing Moon. The Celts used Seed Fall Moon in the same way.

The names Pagan Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon have also been used for this Full Moon. However, these names should not be confused with a Blood Moon—another name for a total lunar eclipse.'' Ref:https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/hunters.html

October's Full Moon was also a Supermoon too.

''Supermoons happen because the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle around Earth but is instead an oval, or ellipse. That means that sometimes our lunar companion is closer to Earth, reaching its closest point to us in what is known as perigee. Other times, it is further away, during what is known as its apogee. When the Moon is close to perigee during a Full Moon, that's a Supermoon. On Thursday 17th Oct, as the Full Moon rose, the Moon arrived at its closest point to Earth, sitting at just 221,938 miles (357,174 km) away. There have been two Supermoons in 2024 thus far, in August and September, and there will be another in November, but October's Hunter's Supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2024. That's because this is the closest occurrence of a perigee to a Full Moon.'' Ref:https://www.space.com/hunters-moon-supermoon-2024-photos

Super Harvest Moon – 17th September 2024

3rd October 2024

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| 7:55 am

A superb selection of images taken by members Jim Burchell and Honor Wheeler on the 17th September 2024 of the Super Harvest Moon.

Why is this Full Moon called a Super Harvest Moon?

''Supermoons occur at perigee: the point in the Moon’s orbit where it’s closest to Earth. A perigee full Moon appears a little brighter and larger than an average full Moon, and is known by some as a ‘supermoon’. The technical name for a 'supermoon' is a perigee syzygy Moon.'' Ref:https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/supermoon-what-when-next

Plus Full Moon names reflect the time of year they happen and the Harvest Moon graces the skies in the harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere. The Harvest Moon is also the Full Moon nearest the autumn equinox, which happens around September 22, depending on the year and time zone.

Fly me to the Moon by Honor Wheeler

Image taken using a Canon M6II camera, 400mm lens, ISO800, F7.1 and EXP1/800s.