Best times tonight’s supermoon, partial eclipse will be visible across Aussie skies

One of the biggest and brightest moons of the year will be visible in the sky tonight as it nears its closest point to Earth.

Known as a supermoon, it occurs when the moon is within 90 per cent of its closest point to Earth and will be seen across Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

It will appear about 15 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than a usual full moon, and will be about 50,000 kilometres closer than when farthest away.

Perth Observatory astronomer Matt Woods said the moon’s orbit was not circular it was elliptical, so sometimes it was closer and other times it was further away from Earth.

“This is the second super full moon of three in a row, so there will be one more next month,” he said.

“The best time to see the supermoon is early evening or early morning when it is close to the horizon if people want to take photos.”

Best time to see the supermoon

The supermoon will be visible in the sky from about 10.34am AWST, 12.04pm ACST and 12.34pm AEST.

The best times to see the supermoon will be early in the evening about 6pm in Sydney, 6.26pm in Melbourne, 5.53pm in Brisbane, 6.09pm in Canberra, 6.16pm in Hobart, 6.23pm in Adelaide, 6.57pm in Darwin and 6.29pm in Perth.

Best place to see a supermoon

According to AstroTourism WA, the best place to see a supermoon is where you can view the eastern horizon without buildings or trees blocking your view.

If you plan on taking a photograph of the supermoon, find a spot with the a landscape you’d like to capture in the foreground.

The landscape will need to be in your view as you look east.

Mr Woods said in WA the Perth Hills were in the east or from Kings Park you could capture the supermoon with the city and Swan River in the background.

“For Sydney you would be able to get nice shots of the harbour or in Brisbane you have the Storey Bridge, it just depends on what nice scenery you want to take a photo of.

“We are blessed in Western Australia, because if you go out in the early morning you will be able to take photos of the beaches.

“In Broome, they will be having the Staircase to the Moon Festival.”

What you will see in the moon

Mr Woods said people will be able to see the whole face of the supermoon tonight.

“You will be able to see Tycho’s Crater which has spider lines coming from the crater,” he said.

“There is also Copernicus which has objector lines where asteroids have hit the moon or materials have gone into space and fallen back on the Earth.

“We normally get two or three supermoons a year, so it is rare that we get three in a row.”

Partial Lunar eclipse

There was also a partial lunar eclipse, but it was not visible from Australia, only in other parts of the world such as the North America, South America, Africa and Europe.

The next time a lunar eclipse will be visible in Australia will be on March 13 next year, when a total eclipse will be visible in NSW, QLD, Victoria and Tasmania.

Optical illusion

As the moon rises it will appear enormous, thanks to a trick of our eyes known as the moon illusion, which makes the moon look larger on the horizon than it does up in the sky, according to Swinburne University astronomer Dr Alan Duffy.

“As the moon appears on the horizon, you can give it the thumbs up at arm’s length – your thumbnail should just about cover the entire Moon. Try again later that night and although the Moon is the same size it will look so much smaller,” he said.