Photos of the blue supermoon show August's rare lunar phenomenon light up the night

8/18: CBS Weekend News

20:39

A rare spectacle began Sunday night as an August supermoon blue moon rose into the sky.

The first of 2024’s four consecutive supermoons, the blue moon will reach peak illumination on Monday and will shine brightly through Wednesday.

According to NASA, 100% of the moon’s nearside will be illuminated on Monday, and 99% will be illuminated on Tuesday.

Here are some photos of the rare phenomenon from around the world.

Moon rises day ahead of full super moon in London — An aircraft passes in front of the moon, with a red glow attributable to smoke particles carried in the upper atmosphere from North American wildfires, a day ahead of the full super moon, as seen from Parliament Hill in London, Britain, Aug. 18, 2024.

Toby Melville/REUTERS

AUSTRALIA-ASTRONOMY-MOON — A rare blue supermoon appears in the night sky over Sydney on Aug. 19, 2024.

SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

Portugal Supermoon — Two women watch a nearly full supermoon rise over the Tagus River from the roof of the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 18, 2024.

Armando Franca/AP

Supermoon in Yichang — The first supermoon of 2024 rises on the evening of Aug. 19, 2024 in Yichang, Hubei Province, China.

CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Supermoon in Hangzhou — The supermoon is seen in the clouds above the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on the evening of Aug. 19, 2024.

CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

A sturgeon moon, the first Supermoon of the year, rises next to the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore — A sturgeon moon, the first supermoon of the year, rises next to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore on August 19, 2024.

Edgar Su/REUTERS

August’s full moon is the first of four consecutive supermoons this year. The September full moon – known as the Harvest Moon – will reach peak illumination on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

The Hunter’s Moon will peak on Thursday, Oct. 17 and the final supermoon – known as the Beaver Moon – will peak on Friday, Nov. 15.

Aliza Chasan

contributed to this report.

Lucia Suarez Sang

Lucia Suarez Sang is an associate managing editor at CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the director of digital content at FOX61 News in Connecticut and has previously written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.