It was a stargazer’s delight, as a supermoon lit up skies across the world, during the Perseid meteor shower - one of the year's most dramatic lunar events.
A supermoon occurs when the moon reaches the point closest to Earth, making it bigger and brighter than usual.
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".
Many enthusiasts grabbed their mobile phones to take a snapshot of the spectacle.
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.
Dr Bill Cooke from NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said the luminous "supermoon" risked drowning out the meteor shower.
"Lunar glare wipes out the black-velvety backdrop required to see faint meteors, and sharply reduces counts."
Dr Cooke added that the Perseids were also "rich in fireballs as bright as Jupiter or Venus" that will remain visible despite themoon's glare.
A study conducted by his team since 2008 has shown the Perseids to be the undisputed "fireball champion" of meteor showers.
The meteors will be visible until Wednesday, with activity peaking on Tuesday.
Supermoons occur relatively often, every 13 months and 18 days, but are not always noticed because of clouds or poor weather.
Sunday’s supermoon was the second for the year. The last one happened on July 12 and the next one is due to appear on September 9.
