If you look out towards the southeastern constellation of Sagittarius at 10:14 pm on July 3, you’ll likely see a beautiful Buck Moon illuminating the skies above Bristol. The brightest and biggest moon so far this year, the supermoon will be just 357,272km away from Earth. (About 14,000 miles closer than your typical full moon.)
The Buck Moon will appear 7% larger than usual and it will be at its brightest just after sunset but we’ll have to wait for the moon to rise above the horizon to actually see it in the sky. Although there may be some clouds over the city we’re hoping that it won’t obscure our view too much on what’s set to be a fairly warm evening with lows of 14°C.
What is a supermoon?
The moon orbits Earth in an elliptical orbit, meaning that it moves around the Earth in an oval shape. On July 3 it will come closer to Earth than it usually does and at the same time, the moon will be full. This is why tonight’s supermoon will appear 7% larger and 14% brighter to us on Earth than the average full moon.
Because of titled orbit, supermoons actually only happen three or four times a year, with four now every year until 2025. The’s compared to the regular 29.5-day lunar cycle which produces 13 full moons every year.
Honestly, we don’t know one constellation from another so thank god for astronomers. All we know is that the moon will be big, bright and incredibly beautiful on Monday night. Tonight does look like the sky might be overcast, however, so stargazers will have to keep their eyes peeled for a break in the clouds.