Photos: 2017’s one and only supermoon soars over Washington

Photos: 2017’s one and only supermoon soars over Washington

Supermoon, Dec. 3. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency/EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Washingtonians had to wait all year for a supermoon to come to town. When it finally showed up Saturday and Sunday evenings, it was magnificent and proved worth the wait.

The moon gained the grandiose prefix because it was not only full, but also passing Earth at about its closest point in its orbit. Supermoons appear bigger and brighter than an ordinary moon.

The wait for the next supermoon won’t be nearly as long.

Supermoons are set to occur twice in January, on the 2nd and 31st. When two full moons occur in the same month, the second is sometimes called a blue moon or, in this case, a super blue moon.

EarthSky notes that this January’s super blue moon “will pass right through the Earth’s shadow,” making for a super blue moon eclipse!

Below, see scenes of the beaming supermoon over some of Washington’s best-known landmarks and elsewhere from Capital Weather Gang’s social networks.

Monumental shots

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/12/04/photos-2017s-one-and-only-supermoon-soars-over-washington/?utm_term=.ba9c8ef7b1bc

kcontents

.