Tricky visibility: Supermoon set to rise tonight

Tonight sees the rise of a supermoon, reaching its full peak in the early evening... although visibility of the lunar event will be poor.

The second of four supermoons in 2023 will peak around 07:31 pm this evening, following the first supermoon which rose in July. Typically, the first full moon of August is known as the Full Sturgeon Moon.

This time, its arrival coincides with the moon's perigee. This refers to the point in the moon's orbit where it is at its closest to Earth.

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

Unfortunately, tonight we also see the arrival of a low-pressure system bringing heavy rain to the southwest of England from 07:00 pm. Lighter, though still heavy, rain is also expected in parts of Wales and southern Ireland.

In addition to the rainfall, it will be an overcast night with few breaks in cloud cover to truly spot the supermoon.

The cloud cover does begin to break up for parts of northern England and northern Scotland from around 10:00 pm.

If you are unable to see tonight's moon, don't worry… there's another coming very soon! We will see another supermoon at the end of August, which, as the second full moon in a month, is also a blue moon.

Check conditions where you are on the WeatherRadar, and check back later this month for more information on the next supermoon.