The largest Moon of 2025 illuminated the sky over Kazakhstan
On the evening of November 5, residents of Kazakhstan witnessed one of the most spectacular astronomical events of the year — the supermoon, Kazinform News Agency reports.
In Astana, the supermoon began around 18:20 local time. It was the brightest and largest full Moon of 2025.
According to NASA, the Moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle. At times, the satellite moves closer to our planet — at a point called perigee — and at other times, it moves farther away — at apogee. When a full Moon coincides with perigee, the Moon appears noticeably larger and brighter than usual. This phenomenon is known as a supermoon.
During each 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches a distance of about 363,000 kilometers at perigee and about 405,000 kilometers at apogee. At this time, its apparent diameter increases by 7–8%, and its brightness — by up to 16%.
On average, a supermoon appears about 14% larger and up to 30% brighter than the dimmest full Moon of the year, although the difference is not always visible to the naked eye.
Scientists emphasized that despite popular myths about the “supermoon’s influence on mood and human behavior,” there is no scientific evidence supporting this. However, due to the increased brightness of the night sky, some sensitive individuals might experience slight sleep disturbances.
Earlier, in September, residents of Kazakhstan had already witnessed another rare celestial event — a total lunar eclipse, during which the Moon took on a reddish hue known as the “Blood Moon.”