Dazzling rare supermoon to be visible in the sky TONIGHT – find out when and where to see it

 

A RARE supermoon is set to be visible in the sky tonight, as the Earth’s rotates to the closest point between its lunar sibling.

The Full Sturgeon Moon will rise on Tuesday (August 1), before the month closes with Full Blue Moon (August 30).

Bav MediaThere are four supermoons in a row this year – a rare sequence[/caption]

A so-called supermoon is what astronomers call “a perigean full Moon”.

This is when a full moon happens at the same time – or nearly – as the time when the moon is closest to us in its orbit. 

A supermoon exceeds the disk size of an average-sized moon by up to 8 per cent and the brightness of an average-sized full moon by some 16 per cent, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

While you may not see the difference in size, a supermoon will appear much brighter than usual – and may even have a reddish tinge.

There are four supermoons in a row this year.

Tonight’s supermoon is the second of this rare sequence.

From the UK, the moon will be visible from between 7:30pm BST and 4:00am BST.

From New York, it will rise around 9:30pm EDT and set around 5:10am EDT on Wednesday (August 2).

How do I see it?

Despite the catchy name, a supermoon can be observed just like a regular moon.

At this time of the month, it is visible for much of the night.

It helps to be in a rural area with a clear skyline.

But cloud coverage can scupper a night-gazer’s best made plans.

If that happens, you’ll have to wait until 30 August to catch a glimpse of the next supermoon.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]