It won't be hard to spot the 'blue supermoon' shining above Belgium tonight, as the full moon will appear around 14% larger and 30% brighter than normal.
A term coined by US astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, a supermoon appears when the moon's orbit brings it closest to Earth. According to NASA, Monday night's full moon will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year, as the moon will be even closer to Earth in September and October.
Tonight's lunar phenomenon is also a blue moon – but not because it will appear blue in colour. A blue moon occurs every two or three years, when there are two full moons within a single calendar month or four full moons within a season. In this case, tonight's is the third full moon of four this season.
The moon will appear more yellow or orange in colour tonight, as it will be sitting low on the horizon. The moon's position means that light is travelling on a longer path, and shorter blue light wavelengths are scattered away by the time the moon's light reaches your eye.
The moon above Jan Breydel stadium in Bruges last week. Credit: Belga / Bruno Fahy
It is rare to have a blue moon and supermoon coincide, with the next blue supermoon not due to pass through our skies until 2037.
While Belgium's Royal Meteorological Institute is forecasting some clouds over Belgium this evening, the striking blue supermoon should still be clearly visible in the sky throughout Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The sun is due to set this evening just before 21:00, with moonrise due before 21:15.
Supermoons are best viewed from an area with dark skies and limited light pollution, and using a small telescope or binoculars can allow you to see the surface of the moon in more detail.
Keen stargazers may have already noticed a particularly brilliant moon on Sunday night, as NASA confirmed that the moon will appear full for three whole days, from Sunday morning through till early Wednesday morning. This means there will be another opportunity to catch a glimpse of the lunar phenomenon on Tuesday night.
