If the Moon orbited Earth in the same plane as Earth orbits the Sun, then the Moon would block out light from the Sun every time there was a new Moon.

But this doesn’t happen because the Moon orbits at an angle of around 5 degrees compared to Earth’s orbit of the Sun. Sometimes the Moon passes through Earth’s plane of orbit and the three bodies – Earth, Moon and Sun line up.

This is called a syzygy. When a syzygy happens during a new Moon we have a solar eclipse, and a syzygy during a full Moon creates a lunar eclipse. By Abigail Beall 

How can I see a Supermoon?

The Moon doesn’t orbit Earth in a circle – it has an elliptical orbit. This means the distance between the Earth and the Moon varies. The closest point in the orbit is called perigee and the furthest away point is apogee.

When a full Moon happens at the same time the Moon is closest to the Earth – less than 360,000km (223,694 miles) away – this is a supermoon. The next supermoon will be on 28 March 2021. AB 

How can I photograph the moon at night?

To capture the Moon with your phone, you might need to play around with your camera settings. Don’t use a flash, turn down the ISO and set your focus to 100.

If you are unsure how to make these changes, download a night photography app (such as NightCap – available on the App Store, £2.99) which will allow you greater control over the camera settings than your usual camera app.

Read more about the Moon:

• The origin of the Moon: a timeline of discovery
• The origin of the Moon: the key discovery

If you’re using a digital camera, start with an aperture of f/11 to f/16 and a shutter speed of between 1/60th and 1/125th of a second. A tripod will help keep your camera still and reduce any shaking from the low light conditions when you need to keep the shutter open a little longer.

To get the best pictures of the Moon you need to work out your shot, making sure you can frame the Moon depending on the scenery around you. To plan where you can see the Moon, or anything in the night sky, there is plenty of software available (like the Moon Locator app – available on Android devices, free). AB

To find more software worthy of your home screen, check out our guide to the best astronomy apps.

Does the Moon rotate?

Yes, the Moon is rotating. But it is tidally locked, which means it rotates in sync with its orbit of the Earth, so for every orbit of the Earth it completes one rotation.

This means as it travels around our planet, the same side faces us the whole time. This is why we have the term ‘dark side of the Moon’, for the side we never see. In reality, that side of the Moon gets just as much sunlight as the side we see, so the correct term is the ‘far side of the Moon’. AB

What is a Blood Moon and how can I see it?