Jama Masjid

Hello pretty … the full moon rises between clouds in Berlin. Picture: AP Photo/Gero Breloer

LAST night’s spectacular full moon was a treat for many Australian skywatchers, but in other parts of the world it was merely the overture to a total lunar eclipse.

When a full or new moon makes its closest approach to Earth, that’s a supermoon. A combination of a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse has not been seen since 1982 and will not happen again until 2033.

The supermoon rises behind Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England. Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

A flock of birds fly by as a perigee moon, also known as a super moon, rises in Mir, Belarus. Picture: AP / Sergei GritsSource:AP

A perigee moon rises in the sky above the La Concha Beach, in San Sebastian, northern Spain. Picture: AP Photo/Alvaro BarrientosSource:AP

Although still about 220,000 miles (354,055 km) away, it was still the closest full moon of the year, about 30,000 miles (48,280km) closer than the average distance. (The moon’s orbit is far from a perfect circle.)

Skywatchers in North and South America, Europe, Africa and western Asia are expected to be able to see the lunar eclipse, when the moon, Earth and sun will be lined up, with Earth’s shadow totally obscuring the moon

The moon is seen against the peak of the tomb of Jama Masjid in New Delhi. Picture: AFP / Chandan KhannaSource:AFP

The full moon is seen on the city skyline as Indian devotees carry statues of elephant-headed Hindu god Lord Ganesha for immersion in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. Picture: AFP / Punit ParanjpeSource:AFP

The full moon rises behind Lisbon’s St. George castle. Picture: AP / Armando FrancaSource:AP

The event is due to happen at 10.11pm on America’s east coast (12pm AEST) and the ellipse should be visible for more than an hour, weather permitting.

There won’t be another total lunar eclipse until 2018.

This eclipse marks the end of a tetrad, or series of four total lunar eclipses set six months apart. This series began in April 2014.

The 21st century will see eight of these tetrads, an uncommonly good run. From 1600 to 1900, there were none.

NASA planetary scientist Noah Petro is hoping the celestial event will ignite more interest in the moon. He is deputy project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, which has been studying the moon from lunar orbit since 2009.

Rising big and full in Lausanne, Switzerland. Picture: AFP / Fabrice CoffriniSource:AFP

An Indian man leans on a wall on top of a building in New Delhi as the moon does time as a backdrop. Picture: AFP / Roberto SchmidtSource:AFP

A full moon shines behind a tower of the Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi. Picture: AFP / Roberto SchmidtSource:AFP

“The moon’s a dynamic place,” Petro said Wednesday. “We’re seeing changes on the surface of the moon from LRO. We’re seeing that it’s not this static dead body in the sky … it’s this great astronomical object that we have in our backyard, essentially. So people should get out and start looking at it.”

Many stargazers, professional and amateur alike, dislike the term “supermoon,” noting the visible difference between a moon and supermoon is slight to all but the most faithful observers.

“It’s not like the difference between an ordinary man and Superman,” said Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. “It really ought to be called a tiny, slightly little bit bigger moon, rather than the supermoon.”