The first of four super full moons this year lit up night skies around the world.
In some places, the supermoon – which is also a blue moon – turned red due to smoke from wildfires in North America. Smoke particles mean that light passing through the atmosphere is scattered in such a way that the orange and red parts of the spectrum are more visible than usual.
Blue moons are not a very common phenomenon – it is believed that this is the origin of the phrase “once in a blue moon”.
Full moons in September, October — the closest moons of the year — and November will also be supermoons.
