Final supermoon of 2023 illuminates Singapore sky on Mid-Autumn Festival

SINGAPORE: Those celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival were in for a treat as the last supermoon of 2023 was seen over Singapore on Friday (Sep 29) night.

Coinciding with the festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, the fourth supermoon began rising at 7pm from the east.

As the full moon occurs closest to the September equinox every year, with corn harvested around the same time, this full moon is also referred to as the Harvest Moon or Corn Moon, according to Facebook group Stargazing Singapore on Thursday.

Despite cloudy conditions during moonrise, CNA reader A Kannan managed to capture photos of the Harvest Moon from Woodlands.

He said that the moon became "'clearly visible" at about 8pm, with the "occasional passing clouds shrouding the moon". Mr Kannan also had the chance to see Jupiter above the moon at about 6am on Friday.

He noted the moon was about 361,800km away from Earth when the photos were taken, adding that it was "closer, brighter and bigger than the normal moon we see during other months". 

The moon, which is expected to set on Saturday morning at about 7.20am, will appear "reddish", said Mr Kannan.

The three previous supermoons this year were the Buck Moon in July, and the Sturgeon Moon and Blue Moon in August.

"For several evenings during this period, the gibbous moon rises earlier than in other months. A moon is described as gibbous when the moon is more than half-full, but not quite fully illuminated, when looked at from the Earth's perspective," said the Science Centre Observatory on Monday.

"This results in (an) abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening, which traditionally provided greater aid to farmers and crews harvesting their summer crops."

The Harvest Moon was also seen by stargazers around the globe, from Australia to Germany.

Supermoons occur when the moon's orbit is closer to the Earth, making the moon appear larger and brighter than usual.

Stargazers who were lucky enough might have also spotted Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury while observing the Harvest Moon.

While 2023 saw four consecutive supermoons, it will be almost a year before another one lights up the planet's skies.

The next supermoon after Friday's, also a Harvest Moon, will not be seen until Sep 18, 2024, data from Time and Date showed.