People gather along North Avenue Beach as a super blue moon rises in Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday. AFP

A rare blue supermoon — the closest full moon of the year — dazzled stargazers Wednesday night.

Saturn joined the celestial spectacle, visible alongside the moon, at least where skies were clear.

It was the second full moon of August, thus the blue label. And it was unusually close to Earth, therefore a supermoon.

The moon appeared to be bigger and brighter than usual, given its close proximity to Earth: just 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometres) or so. The Aug. 1 supermoon was more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) farther away.

If you missed it, it will be a long wait: The next blue supermoon isn’t until 2037. But another regular supermoon is on the horizon at the end of September, the last one of the year.

Associated Press