IN PICTURES: Best shots of the rare blue supermoon from Australia and around the world

The blue supermoon was seen rising over Bondi Beach on Thursday, August 31, 2023 just before 7pm.

People stood on the rocks as the moon appeared larger than life, dwarfing the iconic Australian location.

Australians had their first look at the once-a-decade blue supermoon a day earlier, when it rose in the sky on the evening of Wednesday, August 30.

A so-called "blue moon" is the second full moon taking place in a calendar month. A supermoon appears when the moon is at its closest to Earth in its orbit.

This shot of the blue supermoon was taken by Stuart Matthews at Tennyson, Brisbane on August 30 around 5pm, just as the moon was rising in the beautifully blue sky.

The lunar cycle is approximately 29.5 days, which means you need the first full moon to occur right at the start of the month to leave enough time for another.

That only happens once every two or three years, which is why the phrase "once in a blue moon" means something that happens infrequently.

In Australia, the blue supermoon is the first to take place since 2009.

This shot was taken by Sue Goodacre at Hope Island on the Gold Coast.

Its dubbed a supermoon because its closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.

"Because the moon's orbit is not a perfect circle, it moves closer and further away from Earth throughout the year," Weatherzone says.

"At its closest point to Earth, the moon can appear about six to seven per cent larger than an average full moon."

Matthew Hames shared this shot of the blue moon at Mission Beach in Queensland.

It wasn't just Australian landmarks that had a slice of the action - the supermoon was spotted rising over the Colosseum in Rome on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

It was also spotted and photographed over Milan, setting behind a spire of the Duomo gothic cathedral on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Aknc unmanned aerial craft passes in front of the Supermoon during a demonstration flight on the first day of Teknofest technology and aerospace festival in Ankara, Turkey pn Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Cars drive across the July 15 Martyrs Bridge (Bosphorus Bridge) in Turkey as the rare blue supermoon sets behind it on August 31, 2023.

The moon looking very super and close to cars as they drive across the Istanbul bridge on August 31, 2023.

A group of women gathered next to a busker in Lisbon to soak up the atmosphere and witness the supermoon in the distance on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

While others gathered nearby to photograph the pretty picture on their phones.

The glow of the supermoon, which is not in fact blue in colour despite what its name suggests, covered the small village of Ujue in northern Spain on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

The August blue supermoon was photographed setting behind a historical building and the St Basil's Cathedral (right), as people walked through Red Square in Moscow, Russia on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

The blue supermoon captured above a building in China on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

The supermoon was spotted rising over the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, August 31, 2023 providing an array of light across the skyline.

The super blue moon looked mystical as it began setting behind the Scott Monument in Edinburgh on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

And glowed across the Balmoral Clock in Edinburgh on Thursday morning too.

The super blue moon was visible over the stands of the Seat Unique Riverside stadium as England and New Zealand walked off the pitch after the first T20I cricket match in County Durham, England on Wednesday, August 30, 2023

The cricket wasn't the only sport benefitting from views of the supermoon.

In New York, the full moon was seen rising behind Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre during the second round of the US Open tennis championships on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

The blue supermoon appeared pink in the blue skies over the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.