The final supermoon of 2025 graced the night skies over China from Thursday evening through to early Friday, creating some spectacular illuminated scenery.
According to the Beijing Planetarium, this supermoon reached its fullest phase at 07:14 Beijing time on Friday morning.
Approximately 12 hours prior, the moon passed its perigee -- the closest point to Earth -- with the Earth-moon distance being less than 360,000 kilometers, meeting the common definition of a supermoon and ranking as the second largest full moon of the year.
The latest supermoon occurrence was preceded by a stunning and even larger one back in November, which occurred nine hours before the perigee, while there was also a smaller one in October.
Astronomers say that the "secret" to enjoying the supermoon at its peak is all about timing and location. They note the golden hour comes shortly after sunset when the moon just rises.
Against the backdrop of trees or buildings, it appears exceptionally large and full, while there may be a sense of illusion which makes the shimmering moon appear all the more impressive.
"When the moon just rises, it may appear larger against terrestrial scenery. By midnight on the same day, when it's high in the sky with no contrasting objects around, it seems smaller. This isn't an actual change in size, but an illusion," said Kou Wen, a senior engineer at the Beijing Planetarium. Astronomers say the next supermoon will not appear until this time next year, though it is anticipated to be even more noteworthy.
"The next such supermoon will occur in December of next year. That time, the interval between passing perigee and the full moon will be only about six or seven hours, making it even closer than both occurrences this year," Kou said.
Final supermoon of 2025 illuminates night sky
Final supermoon of 2025 illuminates night sky
China's domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries, according to its developer.
The country on Wednesday unveiled SYT80, a domestically developed T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, marking a major breakthrough in the China's high-performance carbon fiber technology.
This new material has achieved a hundred-tonne-level annual production capacity, making China the first nation to mass-produce this caliber of fiber, according to its developer, China National Building Material Group Co., Ltd. (CNBM).
Featuring lightweight and high-strength properties, the fiber's diameter is less than one-tenth that of a human hair, and yet its tensile strength is 10 times that of ordinary steel and its density is only one-quarter of steel's.
"Compared with the previous-generation T1100, T1200 has seen its tensile strength increase by more than 14 percent. With its ultimate lightweight and high-strength characteristics, T1200 can achieve weight reduction of over 10 percent for equipment in related fields. It holds broad application prospects in strategic emerging industries such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and humanoid robots," said Chen Qiufei, head of T1200 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber research and development at Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Company, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group.
The new material also possesses many other outstanding properties.
As the fiber undergoes carbonization at nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius during production, its chemical properties remain stable and its corrosion resistance is excellent.
This fiber material also features strong fire and flame retardant properties, offering good safety performance.
The development of this fiber material demonstrates China's fully independent and controllable capabilities across the entire industrial chain of high-performance carbon fiber, spanning technologies and equipment as well as the transition from laboratory research to mass production, said Zhou Yuxian, chairman of CNBM.
China's high-strength carbon fiber shows strong potential in strategic emerging industries
