People across Scotland have been snapping some incredible pics of the last Flower Moon of the year, as the giant moon was spotted rising around the country.
The full moon was the biggest and brightest of 2021 - making it a so-called supermoon.
The Flower Moon, so-called because it occurs every May when flowers are blooming around the country, reached its peak last night (May 26) and is the second of two consecutive supermoons, the closest to the Earth this year.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, this lunar name came from Native Americans - and the Algonquin peoples, in particular.
And Scots were only too happy to enjoy the clear skies across much of the country giving them a great view of the phenomenon as it happened.
Speaking about the Lunar event, space agency NASA said: "Compared to other Full Moons in 2021, the Flower Moon will have the nearest approach to Earth, making it appear as the closest and largest Full Moon of the year.
“Going by the seasons, as the second full Moon of spring, the Native American tribes of the northeastern United States called this the Flower Moon, as flowers are abundant this time of year in most of these areas.”
Renowned author Nicola Cornick shared an image of the moon rising over the nearby New Breachacha Castle on the Isle of Coll, Scotland's own Dark Sky Island.
While another lucky island-based photographer on Islay managed to capture some beautiful shots of the moon appearing over the island.
While the beautiful moon was also captured rising up over the Kildoon monument just outside Maybole in South Ayrshire.
The eerie colour of the moon, which at times appeared a vibrant orange, light pink, or pale yellow, was caused by its position on the horizon.
According to Cambridge Live, here is how you should prepare if you want to capture your own stunning shot of the moon, which should still be bright tonight.
Had outside, away from internal lighting, choose a location that allows an unobstructed view and is away from buildings and other sources of light - then make sure you are using the right settings for night-time photography on your phone.
- Turn your flash off.
- Set your ISO sensitively down.
- Setting your focus to 100 will also help.
- A night photography app will allow you greater control over the camera settings than your usual camera app.
- There are many apps (like the Moon Locator app – available on Android devices, free) to help you plan where you can see the moon in the night sky
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