Supermoon: the perigee moon of 2012

The night sky on May 5 was animated by the once-a-year cosmic event of the perigee moon. Popularly known as the "Supermoon", the moon appears much larger above us when the elliptical orbit brings it within 221,802 miles to Earth, the closest point. The effect is magnified during a full moon, when we see our nearest celestial neighbor appear roughly 20 percent brighter and 15 percent larger. Collected here are images taken just before, during, and just after the perigee moon of 2012.


The May's full moon rises beside San Francisco's Coit Tower on May 5, 2012. (Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press)


The moon shines behind the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on May 6, 2012. (Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press)


Lanterns released by Buddhist worshippers fly as the full moon shines in the background during a procession commemorating Waisak, which marks the birth, death and enlightenment of Buddha at the 9th century Borobudur temple in Magelang, Indonesia. (Slamet Riyadi/Associated Press)


A full moon shines behind the minaret of Mohamed Ali Mosque in Cairo on May 5, 2012. (Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)


Wrangler Nate Cummins rides by moonlight on the night before the "Super Moon" during Montana Horses' annual horse drive outside Three Forks, Montana on May 4, 2012. Approximately 300 horses are rounded up and driven 35 miles from their winter range to the Mantle ranch over the course of three days. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)


Skipper Ken Read works at the navigation station while the crew sail under full Supermoon conditions onboard PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG during leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 on May 6, 2012 from Itajai, Brazil, to Miami. (Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)


The moon rises behind the cross of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden, Germany on May 4, 2012. (Robert Michael/AFP/GettyImages)


The full moon rises behind a steeple of the cross of Ayia Thekla (Saint Thekla) Christian Orthodox church near the coastal resort of Ayia Napa, Cyprus on May 5, 2012. (Petros Karadjias/Associated Press)


The full moon rises behind a mosque in Amman on May 5, 2012. (Ali Jarekji/Reuters)


A runner makes his way along a trail on a butte in front of the moon at Papago Park in Phoenix on May 5, 2012. (Darryl Webb/Reuters)


The moon rises above an egret nesting area in Wichita, Kansas on May 5, 2012. (Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle/Associated Press)


The moon shines behind a rose bush in Los Angeles on May 5, 2012. (Joe Klamar/AFP/GettyImages)


The moon rises over Los Angeles on May 5, 2012. (Patrick T. Fallon/Reuters)


The moon rises over the Angel's Gate lighthouse in San Pedro, Calif. on May 5, 2012. (Chuck Bennett/Daily Breeze/Associated Press)


The moon rises over Vancouver on May 5, 2012. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press/Associated Press)


The moon rises behind wind turbines on May 5, 2012 near Palm Springs, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images)


Tourists look at the moon rising over the ancient temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Greece on May 5, 2012. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)


The moon rises over Cultus Mountain on May 5, 2012 in Skagit County, Wash. (Scott Terrell/Skagit Valley Herald/Associated Press)


The moon lights up Waikiki and Diamond Head on May 5, 2012 in Honolulu. (Eugene Tanner/Associated Press)


The moon appears behind statues of angels on the St. Isaak's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 5, 2012. (Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press)


The moon appears behind a steeple of an Orthodox church in the town of Novogrudok, Belarus on May 5, 2012. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press)


The moon appears behind the Mare shanty town complex in Rio de Janeiro on May 6, 2012. (Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press)


Maple leaves are silhouetted by the moon in Spring Lake Township, Mich. on May 6, 2012. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press/Associated Press)


A statue of ancient Greek Goddess Athena is highlighted by the moon in Athens on May 6, 2012. (Kostas Tsironis/Associated Press)


Fishermen cast from a jetty as the moon rises over the Atlantic Ocean on May 5, 2012 near Bal Harbour, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press)


The moon rises over the skyline of Manhattan and One World Trade Center (left) in New York on May 6, 2012. (Gary Hershorn/Reuters)


The full moon rises above Los Angeles on May 5, 2012. (Salman Jafri)

Evolution of the Moon

Although the moon has remained largely unchanged during human history, our understanding of it and how it has evolved over time has evolved dramatically. Thanks to new measurements, we have new and unprecedented views of its surface, along with new insight into how it and other rocky planets in our solar system came to look the way they do.

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10930

Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011

The longest lunar eclipse in over ten years animated the night sky on December 10. The red hue resulted from the sun's light passing through the earth's atmosphere. Viewers in Asia had the best view of the total eclipse, while those watching in Europe saw part of it at moonrise, and North Americans caught part of it as the moon set. It was not visible in South America or Antarctica. The next total eclipse will occur in 2014.


01. The moon casts a reddish hue over Lake Pend Oreille during a lunar eclipse as it begins to set behind the Selkirk Mountain Range near Sandpoint, Idaho on December 10, 2011. (Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters)


02. A composite of 12 pictures shows a full lunar eclipse over the skies in Hefei, China on December 10, 2011. The moon turns red as the shadow falls on it during the eclipse. (Stringer/Reuters)


03. Astronomy enthusiasts gather to watch the lunar eclipse in Wuhan, China on December 10, 2011. (Str/AFP/Getty Images)


04. A man watches the lunar eclipse using his tablet computer during a total lunar eclipse in Kuala Lumpur on December 10, 2011. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images)


05. A lunar eclipse is seen in the sky beside a statue of Buddha in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka on December 10, 2011. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)


06. A partial lunar eclipse is seen from the Roman pillars of the Temple of Hercules in Amman December 2011. (Ali Jarekji/Reuters)


07. The earth's shadow falls on the moon as it undergoes a total lunar eclipse viewed through the arch supports of the Sydney Harbor Bridge December 11, 2011. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters)


08. The earth's shadow falls on the moon as it emerges from a total lunar eclipse above the entrance to a theme park in Sydney on December 11, 2011. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters)


09. A partial lunar eclipse rises above the Tokyo Tower on December 10, 2011. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)


10. The Earth casts its shadow across the moon during the lunar eclipse in New Delhi on December 10, 2011. (Saurabh Das/AP)


11. A full moon lunar eclipse passes over Karachi on December 10, 2011. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)


12. Photographers take pictures of the moon during a lunar eclipse over the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge on December 10, 2011 in San Francisco. (Ben Margot/AP)


13. A woman uses a telescope at the Sydney Observatory to watch the moon over the Sydney Harbor Bridge during a total lunar eclipse in Sydney on December 11, 2011. (Rob Griffith/AP)


14. Israelis look at the full lunar eclipse appearing above the Judean desert from Mount Scopus in Jerusalem on December 10, 2011. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)


15. People view the lunar eclipse as it shines above the Hollywood sign at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles December 10, 2011. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)


16. A shooting star darts across the sky during a lunar eclipse over the entrance to Hawkeye Ranch near Geyserville, Calif. on December 10, 2011. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat/AP)


17. The earth's shadow falls on the moon above the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong's business district on December 10, 2011. (Soo Hoo Zheyang/Reuters)


18. A boy looks through a telescope as he and others observe a lunar eclipse at the Planetarium in Beijing on December 10, 2011. (Andy Wong/AP)


19. Stargazers observe a lunar eclipse at the Griffith Observatory in in Los Angeles on December 10, 2011. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)


20. The moon sets above the Golden Gate Bridge during an eclipse on December 10, 2011, in San Francisco. (Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)


21. A total lunar eclipse on December 10, 2011 shines above a tree known as the miracle solitary pine tree in Japan, which survived the March 11 tsunami in Rikuzentakata. (Kyodo/Reuters)


22. The partially eclipsed moon rises above Cologne on December 10, 2011. Only the end of the eclipse could be seen in Germany due to the late rise of the moon. (Kaiser Henning/AFP/Getty Images)


23. A lunar eclipse shines in the sky over the Swayambhunath stupa, a world heritage site, in Katmandu, Nepal on December 10, 2011. (Binod Joshi/AP)


24. A total lunar eclipse shines above a Christmas tree in Seoul on December 10, 2011. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)


25. As dawn breaks over the tall ships at the San Diego, Calif. Maritime Museum, the setting moon begins to emerge from Earth's shadow following a total eclipse on December 10, 2011. (Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times/AP)


26. A lunar eclipse shines above Turret Arch at Arches National Park on December 10, 2011 near Moab, Utah. (Julie Jacobson/AP)


27. An astronomy enthusiast records the lunar eclipse on his computer as he sets his telescope in Wuhan, China on December 10, 2011. (Str/AFP/Getty Images)