Supermoon 2019: Stargazers in the UK treated to spectacular lunar event

Stargazers in Britain have been treated to the largest supermoon of the year this evening.

The biggest and brightest full moon of 2019, the super snow moon, is one of three supermoons to be visible in the night sky this year.

The first fell on January 21 and the last one will fall on March 21.

Photographers across Europe captured the moon, which was at its brightest point at 3.53pm UK time on February 19, rising over cities’ monuments.

In Britain, the supermoon rose at 5.20pm. Scientists had warned stargazers would have to wait a couple of hours to catch a glimpse it.

In Greenwich, London, photographer Yui Mok captured a dramatic photograph of the Emirates Air Line cable cars silhouetted against the backdrop of the supermoon.

While skies were cloudy for some of the evening, others still managed to share photos of the moon rising over the capital's landmarks.

One posted a series of photos of the moon rising behind the Tower of London alongside the caption: "The moon and clouds worked together tonight to make the Tower of London looks spooky tonight."

Another posted a photo of the supermoon behind the London Eye, lit up in red.

The last full moon in January occurred when three lunar phenomenon combined to create a rare super blood moon eclipse.

The phenomenon, caused in part by a lunar eclipse, makes the surface of the moon appear red while seeming brighter and closer to Earth than normal.

A supermoon is when a full moon appears in the sky around 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than usual.

The snow moon is so called because Ancient Native American tribes and Europeans used to mark the changing seasons by following the lunar months, naming the months after the features associated with that season.

An early moon is therefore known as a snow moon because this time of year is when heavy snow falls. It is also called the Full Hunger Moon, because it was hard to hunt in the snow and people often went hungry.