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The Supermoon Is Lighting Up Cities Around The World And The Photos Are Unreal

by Oliver McAteer
REUTERS

Trust me when I say you DO NOT want to be missing out on tonight's supermoon.

It's already lighting up the sky above Europe and the photos are insane and Instagram porn of the highest order.

Look at it. LOOK AT IT NOW.

Here it is over the English countryside in a rather romantic shot that'll make you swoon on the inside.

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These guys got front-row seats in the London Eye (front-row seats times 100 for the plane passengers).

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This one looks straight-up from "Harry Potter."

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Getting artsy with this one.

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SO MUCH ART. So much expression.

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OOOOOH...

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...AAAAAAHHHHH

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So, do you want to know how this sky magic is made?

Well, it's quite sciencey and complicated, but supermoons occur when the sun, the moon and Earth all line up together. A spokesperson for NASA describes it in a bit more detail,

Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, one side (perigee) is about 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other (apogee). The word syzygy, in addition to being useful in word games, is the scientific name for when the Earth, sun and moon line up as the moon orbits Earth. When perigee-syzygy of the Earth-moon-sun system occurs and the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun, we get a perigee moon or more commonly, a supermoon.

It's also part optical illusion. The NASA spokesperson added, when the moon is near the horizon, it can look unnaturally large when viewed through trees, buildings or other foreground objects.

The supermoon was scheduled to happen three times in 2016: once back on October 16, tonight's showing, and a final one on December 14.

As long as it's not majorly cloudy, you're in with a good chance of seeing it.

Get out those cameras and set Instagrams to stun.

Citations: NASA