Advertisement

Supermoon silhouette in Mukinbudin

Picture: Mick Sippe

The dramatic sight of the "supermoon" lighting up the sky on Sunday had stargazers reaching for their cameras and for Mukinbudin man Mick Sippe it was a moment five months in the making.

Mr Sippe, a carpenter who has a passion for photography, captured this stunning shot of his wife Katie and dog Keeta at her family's property on Sunday night.

He got the idea for the shot more than five months ago as he drove a tractor across the farm.

"I've been keeping an eye on the Moon since then, but it hasn't been the right conditions until now," he said.

He, Katie and Keeta were in position just after 5pm as the unusually big, bright full Moon made an appearance.

A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closest to Earth.

SUPERMOON LIGHTS SKY | BRIGHTEST MOON OF 2014

Sunday's Moon appeared 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than normal as it reached the point in its orbit closest to the Earth, known as perigee.

The spectacle can be seen during the Perseid meteor shower - one of the year's most dramatic lunar events.

Given a dark, clear sky in a normal year, it is common to see more than 100 of the meteors an hour during the second week in August.