The Observatory at Americas Square, Washington, sees the Hunter's Moon rising on October 19, 2021.
Skywatchers all over the globe enjoyed a spectacular celestial treat when the full moon on Wednesday, Oct. 21, was visible. It is also known as the Hunter's Moon.
Full moons are when the orbit of a moon relative to Earth swings into a position that full sunlight falls on the planet-facing side. A full moon occurs approximately every 29.5 Earth-days. On rare occasions, the moon, sun and Earth align to allow for a lunar eclipse when the Earth's shadow crosses the moon's face.
These are just a few of the images that caught us' attention.
Related: How to spot Uranus next to the Hunter's Moon full week
The full Hunter's Moon rises above Crimea on October 20, 2021/ (Image credit to Sergei Malgavko/TASS/Getty)
Crimea was a region that caused an international controversy between Roscosmos and NASA in 2014. Sergei Malgavko, TASS photographer, captured the full moon rising close to Simferopol (an administrative and transport hub in the region).
On Oct. 20, 2021, the full moon can be seen in Buenos Aires. (Image credit: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty)
Juan Mabromata, Agence France-Presse (AFP), photographer from Buenos Aires captured a stunning close-up of Wednesday's full moon. The ridges of craters can be seen in the upper-left.
On Oct. 20, 2021, the full Hunter's Moon rises in Manhattan behind the Chrysler Building. (Image credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty)
Tayfun Koskun, a photographer from Anadolu Agency in New York City captured Manhattan's Chrysler Building cutting the full moon in half.
Aubrey Gemignani, a NASA photographer, captured a series images showing the almost full moon rising from The Observatory At America's Square in Washington, D.C., near the headquarters. One image shows the moon against a flock birds. One image shows the moon above the lights of cars. Another zooms in on it over a few buildings.
Image 1 of 3 The almost full moon can be seen rising from The Observatory At Americas Square in Washington on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. (Image credit to Aubrey Gemignani/NASA). Image 2 of 3. The almost full moon can be seen rising from The Observatory At Americas Square in Washington on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. Image 3 of 3 The almost full moon rises from The Observatory At Americas Square in Washington on Tuesday, October 19, 2021. (Image credit Aubrey Gemignani/NASA
NASA has a full moon guide that lists other cultural monikers.
Related: 2021 Full Moon Names (and More)
The peak of Orionid meteors this week coincided with the Hunter's Moon's fullness. Most sources agree that it occurred around Wednesday, Oct. 20. Although you may still be able to catch many meteors off-peak the expected maximum meteor rate of 10-20 per hour will likely be wiped out by the bright moon.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of the full moon or any other night-sky sight and you'd like to share it with Space.com for a story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information spacephotos@space.com.
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