The largest supermoon in 68 years has risen in Europe and Africa, and astronomers across the world are keenly observing the stunning natural phenomenon.

Skygazers took to high-rise buildings, observatories and beaches to get a glimpse of the closest supermoon to Earth in almost seven decades, and snap dramatic pictures. The supermoon was first visible in Australia and Asia as night fell in the east.

In New York City, the Chrysler building lit up when the supermoon set behind it, and photographers captured the moon rising over the US Capitol dome in Washington DC. In Boston, Jamie Iacoi, an estate agent, filmed video from his roof deck on Sunday. “At one point, the planes were flying right through the middle of the moon. It was so cool to see in person,” he told the Reuters news agency.

Spectators lined up in France, Israel and Germany to watch the moon rise behind famous monuments, such as the Eiffel tower, Dormition Abbey, and the Brandenburg gate.

In the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, 36-year-old Hsieh Wei-Ting was one of scores who watched the moon through telescopes. “I think the last time I can remember this sort of [activity] is when I was very small, when Hale-Bopp came. Back then my parents took me. It was like climbing a mountain to look at the stars.”

The moon also shone over Jakarta in Indonesia and Thailand’s Bangkok, while in the Philippines, park-goers watched the spectacle in Manila.

The phenomenon happens when the moon is full at the same time as, or very near, perigee – its closest point to Earth on an elliptical, monthly orbit. Clear skies allowing, it will be visible shortly after sunset on Monday wherever people are in the world.



Nasa said this moon would be “especially super” as it would be the closest to Earth since 1948, and that there would not be another like it until 2034.

The supermoon was visible in China and across much of India, although residents of New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, struggled to see it clearly through the toxic smog that has been shrouding the city.



The supermoon over the Beijing Olympic tower. Photograph: Imaginechina/REX/Shutterstock

Astronomers were at the ready at observatories across the region to explain the phenomenon to curious members of the public.

The changes to the moon are not always obvious. Once it is high in the sky, it can be hard to tell it is larger, but on the horizon it can appear quite spectacular.

A supermoon rises behind the Bavarian forest near Straubing in southern Germany. Photograph: Armin Weigel/AFP/Getty Images

In Britain, weather forecasters said the best chance of seeing the supermoon would be in eastern Scotland, north-east England, north-east Wales and the east of Northern Ireland. For the best view, Pascal Descamps, of the Paris Observatory, recommended that people choose somewhere with a well-known landmark in the foreground.

A supermoon rises over the Keangnam Hanoi Landmark tower in Hanoi, Vietnman. Photograph: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images

The supermoon also means a stronger high tide, something that gets surfers giddy with excitement, not only at the prospect of riding bigger waves, but doing so at night. Thousands of people headed to Bronte beach in Sydney to witness the event, but clouds largely spoiled the party, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.



But in Queensland and western Australia, the supermoon lit up the night sky. Amateur photographers, families and astronomy enthusiasts jostled for prime position on Brisbane lookout Mount Coot-tha to watch the lunar event.

Well we had a plan but the clouds got in the way #supermoon #Noshow pic.twitter.com/LCxKXHSBdW — SMH Photography (@photosSMH) November 14, 2016

Picnics were held in downtown Hong Kong for residents to watch the supermoon rise over the financial hub’s skyline, while hikers headed to the greener, more distant corners of the city to enjoy views with less light pollution.



The landmark Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, one of the world’s tallest buildings, welcomed skygazers. Astronomers predicted that it would be one of the biggest moons seen from the island in nearly 100 years.



Special viewing events were being organised by astronomy groups, with members of one group in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta – the heart of an ancient sultanate – taking to the rooftop of their headquarters to get a glimpse of the supermoon as it rose over the city’s historic buildings.

In Thailand, astrologers were variously predicting that the supermoon would bring disaster or great fortune.



Soraja Nuan-yoo, renowned for predicting the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands in countries around the Indian Ocean, said when the moon got close to the Earth, “natural disasters happen”.