Supermoon delights Philadelphia-area skywatchers

Monday's so-called "supermoon" looked especially big and bright: The moon's full phase coincided with its closest orbit to Earth in nearly 70 years.

The moon was at perigee – its closest point to Earth – at 6:22 a.m. Monday, according to NASA, and was officially a full moon at 8:52 a.m. That combination led to a large, bright moon in the sky just before dawn.

While it's not uncommon for a full moon and perigee to happen at the same time – the supermoon phenomenon also occurred in October and will again in December – Monday's was particularly special, astronomers say.

The moon was just 221,524 miles away from the Earth at perigee Monday morning, the closest it has been since 1948. And it won't pass this close to Earth again until 2034.

While the supermoon reached its peak Monday morning, a Philadelphia skywatchers captured vibrant images of the moon Sunday night as well. The moon will still appear super Monday night into early Tuesday, though forecasted cloudy skies and rain could hinder views.

Here are some photos of the supermoon from around the region: