First supermoon of the year to light up skies tonight

Keep your eyes peeled tonight as this year's first supermoon is set to light up the skies across the world.

Known as the 'buck moon', not only will the lunar event be brighter than any other full moon spectacle of 2023 so far, but it's also going to be one of the closest to Earth of the year.

For some stargazers, it'll even appear to hang lower in the sky than usual, too.

Tejas Sandhu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

But before we get into all that, I'm sure you're wondering what the hell a supermoon actually is.

Well, it's pretty much what it says on the tin - it looks bigger than a normal moon and marks the point in its orbit where it's the closest to Earth.

“A supermoon is when the moon appears a little bit bigger in our sky,” Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University told CNN.

“As the moon goes around the Earth, it’s not a perfect circle. So, there are points in its orbit where it’s a little bit closer or a little bit farther from the Earth.”

The supermoon's name dates back to Native American peoples and references the time of year in which male deer antlers begin to grow back, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The buck moon is the first of four supermoons to hit the skies this year and will be visible tonight (2 July).

OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

It's best to try and catch it around sunset and obviously, it all depends on the weather and how clear the sky is, but it's predicted to shine at around 9.20pm BST, with peak visibility expected between July 3 and 4 as it reaches its full phase.

If you miss it tonight, don't worry as you'll be able to catch it from around 10.14pm onwards tomorrow evening.

And if you're keen to spot more, here are the rest of the full moons set to grace our skies over the year, including the three remaining supermoons:

August 1: Sturgeon moon (supermoon)

August 30: Blue moon (supermoon)

September 29: Harvest moon (supermoon)

October 28: Hunter’s moon

November 27: Beaver moon

December 26: Cold moon

The buck supermoon comes after people tried to spot last month's strawberry moon in the sky, which got its name due to the fact June is strawberry harvesting season in North America.

Anyway, happy moongazing!

Topics: Space, UK News, World News, Science

Chloe Rowland

Chloe Rowland is a Sub Editor and Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Salford with a BA Multimedia Journalism degree in 2019 but has continued to use the fact she has a Blue Peter badge as her biggest flex.