Blue Moon Supermoon to appear above UK skies this week

A blue moon will be in the skies above the UK this week.

Stargazers are in for a treat as the second supermoon of the month appears on Thursday night.

The phenomenon occurs when a full moon is near its closest point to Earth, making it seem bigger and brighter than a usual full moon.

The moon will be located 222,000 miles from Earth, as opposed to 252,000 miles when it is at its furthest point from the planet.

It is the first time two full supermoons will occur in the same month since 2018, and it won’t happen again until 2037.

Advising people how to spot the supermoons, Royal Museums Greenwich says: “So long as there’s not too much cloud, the full Moon will be an unmistakable white orb in the sky. This is a good opportunity to use a small telescope or a pair of binoculars to see the Moon’s detailed surface, or even try taking a few interesting moon photos.

“However, you can see the Moon perfectly well with just your eyes. Seeing moonrise just after sunset or moonset just before sunrise will be an impressive sight as it will appear enormous compared to the surrounding landscape.

“This is due to an optical illusion. During moonrise, the Moon looks bigger than it is because our brain doesn’t understand that the sky is a dome. It falsely projects things near the horizon to appear larger than they actually are.”

There will also be a treat for stargazers next month when Neptune is at its most visible.

It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long on September 19.

Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.