The supermoon photographed behind the Custom House and Liberty Hall in Dublin.Danny Dubek / Twitter
The skies above Ireland boasted a wealth of astronomical phenomenon over the past weekend including a meteor shower, a chance of seeing the International Space Station and the dramatic supermoon.
The supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon (a new moon) with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit. According to Astronomy Ireland “the Moon's distance from Earth can vary by about 15%, which can cause a change in brightness of about 30%.
“By definition the Full Moon rises when the Sun sets and there is an optical illusion called the "Moon Illusion" that makes the Moon 'look' bigger when it is low down, just above the horizon (in fact its size does not change at all, it's purely an optical illusion, but a very powerful one.)
The result is quite dramatic and the Irish were out in force sharing their photos of the night sky. Here’s some of those shared on Twitter from around Ireland:
#supermoon over Dalkey Island, Co. Dublin, Ireland pic.twitter.com/Q1iZMUZXTx
— Thilo Rusche (@thilorusche) August 11, 2014
Supermoon at 1:38am, the time where it was closest to Ireland. pic.twitter.com/edCQYwnqTs
— Chris Loonytoon (@loonytoon1982) August 11, 2014
Magnificently Vibrant #SuperMoon rising over #Dalkey Island #Dublin #Ireland via @lindaoreilly3 Sunday Aug-10-14 pic.twitter.com/USaQafrbEq
The super moon lights up the clouds over Lough Derg. #Clare #Ireland pic.twitter.com/spruDGKpBo
— Clarevirtually (@clarevirtually) August 10, 2014
#Supermoon over Newtownsmyth #Galway, #Ireland 10-08-14. 22:24hrs. pic.twitter.com/itaGb8VTyC
— Garrett Phillips (@GarrPhillips) August 10, 2014
The next Supermoon is on the night of September 7, and the last Supermoon was on the night of July 12.
Main photo by Danny Dudek (@dannysapples).