Is the 'supermoon' outside your window right now?

But much of Britain missed out on the spectacle as cloudy conditions hampered efforts to see the natural satellite - which appears up to 30% brighter and 14% bigger than average.

Astronomers had said the moon would be appear closer to Earth on Monday than it has in decades - just 221,525 miles away.

The time to see it at its best in the UK was around 4.45pm, when it began to rise and was nearest the horizon, with Aberdeenshire in Scotland and northeastern parts of Wales enjoyed the clearest conditions.

Image Caption: A woman looks at the 'supermoon' rising over the desert near Tabuk in Saudi Arabia

But if you missed the spectacle, there is another chance on Tuesday when clearer skies are forecast for areas north of the M4.

There is another "supermoon" on 14 December, but if you fail to see that you will have to wait until 25 November 2034, according to NASA.

The US space agency described the event as "undeniably beautiful".

Image Caption: The 'Supermoon' rises behind the Propylaea in Athens

The moon's proximity to the horizon caused an optical illusion known as the "low-hanging moon", where it can be measured against familiar objects such as trees and houses.

The last time the moon was this close to the Earth was in 1948.

Image Caption: The moon setting behind people fishing on a pier in Redondo Beach, California

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said the moon appears to change size and brightness because of its orbit.

He said: "The moon's distance from Earth varies because it has an elliptical rather than circular orbit, as do all planetary and satellite orbits.

1. A funfair ride in London the night before the supermoon
2. The scene over Whitby Abbey, in North Yorkshire
3. A plane flies past the moon in Nepal
4. A full moon behind a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin on the eve of the supermoon in Kazakhstan
5. A British family watch the moon rise in Loughborough
6. The supermoon rises over the United States Capitol dome in Washington DC
7. The supermoon rising in Kansas City, Missouri
8. The supermoon rises over the Missouri River in North Dakota
9. An unusually large and bright moon adorns the night sky in Santiago, Chile
10. The supermoon rises over the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol dome in Washington DC
11. The moon rises behind clouds as the Emirates Air Line cable car is pictured in London's Docklands
12. Another image of the moon in London's Docklands

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"If the Earth and moon were the only objects in the universe and we were totally flexible and solid, every closest point (perigee) and every farthest point (apogee) would be identical for eternity.

"But in the real universe, there are many more forces acting on the two bodies, notably the direction of the sun, so the perigee and apogee distances change slightly."

On average, the moon is 238,900 miles from the Earth, but at its perigee it is around 5% closer. At its apogee it is 5% more distant.

Image Caption: A woman looks at the 'supermoon' rising over the desert near Tabuk in Saudi Arabia

Image Caption: The 'Supermoon' rises behind the Propylaea in Athens

Image Caption: The moon setting behind people fishing on a pier in Redondo Beach, California