While this article may be about telling you that you’ll be able to see the first and brightest supermoon of the year – the Buck moon – so far this July, it is also just another excuse to get this tune stuck in your head.
Blue Super moon, you saw me standing alone. Without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.
If you hate Grease, then it sucks to be you. But, on another still-pretty-upbeat note, it is true that (weather permitting) you will be able to see the shiniest supermoon of the year from Manchester this month. It’s the very first of 2023 to be visible from Earth, coming a whole seven months or so into the year – but there’s also more on the super-menu to come, but more on that later.
When can I see the supermoon?
The first supermoon of the year is due to be visible in the sky tonight (July 3), just in time to wave hello to the fourth of July on the horizon for our friends in the US as it peaks in brightness at around 12:38am local time (on July 4).
What is a supermoon?
Supermoon describes the celestial event that sees the colliding of both a full moon and the time when the moon is at its nearest distance to Earth on its orbit (when it reaches “pedigree”). The visibility of this occurrence tends to happen during full moons due to the moon appearing far bigger and brighter when it is at this stage. This marks the first supermoon of 2023, but a full moon occurs every 29.5 days when the moon completes its lunar cycle.
When are the next supermoons in 2023?
After a slice of lunar love this July, the rest of the year also has a few more supermoon offerings to come. They may not be quite as bright as the buck moon, but, as their name suggests, they’re still very much high on the ‘super’ scale.
August 1 will see space buffs pulling out their binoculars to catch a glimpse of the Super Sturgeon Moon, whereas August 28 marks the arrival of the Super Blue Moon. Just over a month later, the Super Harvest Moon will arrive, popping up on September 29.
Why is the Buck Moon the brightest in 2023?
Since its the closest to the Earth, weighing in at around 224,895.4 miles away (14,000 miles than a normal full moon event), it will be far more visible to the human eye than others, making it the first of the year that we can actually bear witness to.
All eyes to the sky for the Buck Moon tonight!