Blue Super Moon in UK tonight - how to see rare phenomenon from your own window

30 August 2023 , 03:47

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A Blue Super Moon is where the full moon takes place at the 'perigee' (Image: Getty Images)

A rare Blue Super Moon is set to appear tonight - and may not be seen again for 14 YEARS.

The moon's cycle is 29 and a half days, so every two-to-three years there's a full moon at the beginning and end of a calendar month like August this year. This is tagged a 'blue moon' - and due to its relative rarity, the term 'once in a blue moon' was coined. However, despite the name, it isn't actually blue in colour.

Meanwhile, a Blue Super Moon is where the full moon takes place at the 'perigee', when the moon is both full and at or near its closest point to Earth, according to NASA. And while it won't actually be blue, it will be very bright - precisely 30% more so than normal and 14% bigger. This is in part because it will be closer at 222,043 miles away. This compares to the normal distance of about 252,088 miles.

It will mark the first time in five years that two super moons have appeared in the same month and are due to be the last until 2037. The best time to see the moon will be 7.52pm this evening. It is then due to peak at around 2.35am on Thursday in the UK. Unlike comets or shooting stars - super moons are not so inconspicuous.

If it's not too cloudy, the Royal Observatory at Greenwich says anyone should be able to see the "unmistakable white orb in the sky". Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory, said: "If you have a clear enough view to the south, it will be easily visible to the unaided eye."

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He added while the blue super moon will peak in the early hours of Thursday, visibility should be good for around a day either side. The best view is said to be just after sunset - or at moonrise - or moonset, just before sunrise.

Ryan Merrifield