Stargazers will be in for a show tonight when a supermoon lights up the sky.
The supermoon will be the third of four consecutive supermoons, and NASA says it will also be the brightest of the bunch.
Here’s what you can expect and the best time to see it.
When is the best time to see the supermoon?
According to NASA, the supermoon will technically occur at 10:26pm AEDT.
But if that’s a bit past your usual bed time, the good news is the Moon will actually appear at its biggest around dusk.
That’s caused by an optical illusion known as the Moon illusion.
If you happen to miss the Moon this evening though, there will still be some time to admire it.
The Moon will appear full on Friday night too.
What is a supermoon?
To the naked eye here on Earth, supermoons are when the Moon looks a lot bigger than usual.
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But it doesn’t actually grow bigger.
According to NASA, the term refers to when the Moon, in either its full or new lunar phase, syncs up with a close swing around Earth.
That is, when it’s within 90 per cent of its closest approach to Earth, to be exact.
But since we can’t see new moons very easily, the term most often refers to when the Moon is full.
Because the Moon’s orbit around Earth isn’t a perfect circle, there are times when it’s closer to Earth.
That’s when it looks biggest to us.
Why is it called a hunter’s supermoon?
All the full moons throughout the year have names that come from a US reference book called the Old Farmer’s Almanac, first published in 1792.
The book, which is published every September, shares weather pattern forecasts, Moon phases and gardening tips for the coming year.
Each full moon’s name was given to it based on seasonal milestones.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac is still in print.
(Old Farmer’s Almanac)
Here’s the name for each month’s moon:
- January: Wolf Moon
- February: Snow Moon
- March: Worm Moon
- April: Pink Moon
- May: Flower Moon
- June: Strawberry Moon
- July: Buck Moon
- August: Sturgeon Moon
- September: Harvest Moon
- October: Hunter’s Moon
- November: Beaver Moon
- December: Cold Moon
You might have noticed some of these names – like the snow moon and cold moon don’t quite fit with our calendar year.
That’s because the lunar names are based on Northern Hemisphere seasons.
The hunter’s moon got its name because it occurs around the beginning of the hunting season.
How rare are supermoons?
There’s usually only three or four a year.
So far in 2024, they’ve fallen on August 20 and September 18.
Supermoons always happen one after another, so it’s not surprising we’re about to get another one so soon.
The full harvest moon rises behind the silhouette of the coat of arms of Russia set atop of the Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. (AP: Alexander Zemlianichenko)
When is the next supermoon?
We’ll only get one more supermoon this year, on November 15.
But because it will be a new moon, it won’t be as impressive a sight.
Beyond that, we won’t see another supermoon until October 2025.
