Supermoon on show in Wairarapa

LUNAR SPECTACLE: The "supermoon" above Mt Rangitumau near Masterton at dusk on Sunday evening. PHOTO/TINA NIXON

The 'supermoon' that loomed large in Wairarapa skies on Sunday evening was heaven sent for photographers in the region.

Images of the phenomenon that caught the breath of viewers online included a picture captured by photographer Tina Nixon about dusk on Sunday of the Moon above Mt Rangitumau near Masterton, and an image of the Cape Palliser Lighthouse silhouetted against the Moon.

Ms Nixon, a former journalist, said she was pleased the Hawke's Bay Today and New Zealand Herald websites had run her image of the supermoon.

She had several years ago uploaded a video she shot of a "moonbow" over the Tararua Ranges that had so far claimed about 26,000 views and said the Moon "always looks spectacular rising up over the Rangitumau ridge".

Mark Gee, Royal Observatory astronomy photographer of the year, also shot an outstanding image of the supermoon hanging above the Cape Palliser Lighthouse on Sunday.

He says on his Facebook page the image was taken 3.7km from the lighthouse.

"It was a challenge to find a location to shoot the moonrise. Cloud threatened the party in Wellington, so I drove for a few hours to a location I have spent many nights photographing the stars," he said.

"It was tricky to get a perfect line-up and it didn't work out exactly as planned, but I'm still happy with the result. And check out the people next to the lighthouse as a good scale reference."

The supermoon can cause real physical effects on Earth, including larger than usual tides, according to earthsky.org. There were five supermoons crowding the calendar this year, the website posted, including the two new moons of January, and the full moons of July, August and September.

The Moon was expected to appear even larger on Sunday evening than the June supermoon, as it fell closer to the perigee - its closest point to the Earth.

The Moon and Earth will not have such a close encounter again - 356,896km from the centre of each heavenly body - until September 28 next year.