The exact full moon is at 1.32pm Tuesday AEST but won’t be visible in Australia until it rises on the eastern horizon at 5.33pm AEST.The term “supermoon” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 to describe both a new and full moon within 90 per cent of perigee - its closest approach to Earth during its elliptical orbit.
“Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding which full moons qualify as supermoons, but for 2021 all agree the two full moons in April and May are supermoons,”The moon will be at its closest point or perigree, coming within 357,378 kilometres of Earth, at 1.22am on Wednesday AEST, 12.52am ACST and 11.22pm Tuesday AWST.Dr Jacob said the moon illusion effect will make it look bigger as it rises over the eastern coastline, compared to its size high in the sky.
“We interpret the moon as looking bigger when it is down by the horizon than when it is overhead,” he said.“A coastal location would be beautiful,” Dr Jacob said. “Get a good view of a wide swathe of the eastern sky to allow you to see it rising.” Astronomical Society of Victoria vice president Perry Vlahos said while the supermoon can be viewed all over Melbourne, those in the west may get a clearer view.Mr Vlahos said the best time to view the supermoon is at sunset when the full moon rises.Temperatures at sunset on Tuesday are forecast around 20 degrees in Sydney, with a slight chance of a shower on the coast, and 14 to 15 degrees in Melbourne with scattered cloud coverage overnight.
The next supermoon, a “blood moon”, is on May 26 and will be slightly closer to the Earth. There will be a total lunar eclipse that night as the moon passes into Earth’s shadow, expected to be visible from all of New Zealand and most of Australia.