Amazing Moon Rises Over City Hall in Sweden (Photo)

Moonrise Over City Hall of Östersund, Sweden — The moon rises over the city hall of Östersund, Sweden in this image taken by Göran Strand. Strand sent the photo to SPACE.com on Oct. 28, 2013. (Image credit: Göran Strand | www.facebook.com/fotografgoranstrand | www.astrofotografen.se )

A giant moon rises over a sleepy city in Sweden, marking the last moments of summer.

Astrophotographer Göran Strand sent SPACE.com this magnificent photo of the moon over Östersund's city hall on Oct. 28.

"I went out to capture the last hours of the summertime,” Strand said in an email to SPACE.com. "In the background you can see some clouds that are lit by the moon." [10 Surprising Moon Facts]

The Earth's lone satellite takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth and rotate on its axis. It takes 29.53 days between one full moon to the next, a time also called a "synodic" month. Its size appears to vary to observers on Earth because it has an elliptical orbit.

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by SPACE.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original story on SPACE.com.

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.