Supermoon dazzles Pakistan skies as Suparco clarifies timing

The year’s first supermoon lit up skies across Pakistan on Tuesday as stargazers thronged popular vantage points to photograph the lunar spectacle. The appearance followed a clarification from the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) about when the event would be visible locally.

Officials explained that a timing overlap created confusion: the Moon’s perigee — its closest point to Earth — occurred at 7pm Coordinated Universal Time on October 6, which translated to midnight in Pakistan, just as October 7 began. The moment of full illumination was expected later in the evening at 8:47pm Pakistan Standard Time, allowing both the perigee and full Moon to occur within hours of each other — the classic conditions that produce a supermoon.

According to Suparco’s guidance, the Moon during this event was about 6.6% larger and 13% brighter than the average full Moon, though in some cycles a supermoon can appear up to 14% larger and nearly 30% brighter. The agency earlier estimated the Earth–Moon distance to be roughly 224,599 miles at perigee.

Skywatchers were also told to look for Saturn shining close to the Moon on the evenings of October 6 and 7, adding to the show in western skies. Two more supermoons are expected this year on November 5 and December 5, promising additional opportunities for night-sky photography and public viewing.