July astronomy outlook: A supermoon and fresh meteor showers

After a rather sparse month for astronomy in June, July delivers a fresh meteor shower and the first supermoon of the year.

That supermoon arrives tonight. The Super Full Buck Moon is set to rise over the UK and Ireland, and peaks around 12:38 pm this afternoon, becoming the first of four supermoons expected in 2023.

At a time of a supermoon, our lunar companion will appear around 7% larger and 16% brighter overhead than a usual full moon thanks to its timing.

A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest approach to Earth, as its orbit around the planet is not a perfect circle.

There is no broadly accepted definition of a supermoon, although the Farmer’s Almanac, now responsible for naming moons, define a supermoon as a full moon within 224,000 miles of Earth.

The next key event of the month comes to us on July 17 with a new moon. Like any new moon this offers dark skies creating the perfect conditions to see dimmer star constellations which may usually be obscured by the moon light.

Our final event this month arrives on July 28 as the Delta Aquarids meteor shower reaches its peak. Active from July 12, this is an average shower offering up to 20 meteors per hour as it peaks overnight on the 28th, into the 29th.

As the peak arrives, a full moon is just days away, with the year's second supermoon is due to rise on August 1.

Therefore, you may want to try spotting a shooting star in the days leading up to the peak, or in the days after the supermoon as the shower remains active until August 12.