Reader's stunning picture shows rare blue supermoon over Cowdray Castle in Midhurst

Reader Hanna Gamlin snapped the postcard-worthy pic yesterday evening (August 31) as the rare phenomena shined over the Sussex landscape.

Although its origins are shrouded in mystery, the name ‘blue Moon’ doesn’t actually have much to do with its colour. Instead, it refers to an extra full Moon in the lunar calendar. This is a relatively rare event, only taking place once every two or three years. This happens because full Moons actually take place every 29 and a half days, and a lunar year of twelve cycles lasts 354 days, so the surplus dayssometimes accumulate over two or three years, giving one lunar cycle an extra Moon.

But last night’s blue moon was extra special, because it coincided with a point at which the Moon and was closer than usual to the Earth, meaning it seemed to be bigger than usual. This is known as a blue supermoon, and the last one took place in 2018 during a lunar eclipse.