Super Moon

Once a year a Super Moon appears in the sky as the Moon, which has an elliptical orbit around the Earth, comes to it closet to the Earth. The super moon is up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full Moons of the year.

The Moon will reach perigee, its closet point, at 0434 BST on Sunday, just around the tome it is setting in the UK, and one minute later it will later it will line up with the earth and the Sun to become full. The last time this happened was back in March last year when it was 250 miles closer to the Earth and it was truly magical. This year assuming the sky is clear it should be some Moon set.

Some people believe that the Super Moon is responsible for bizarre behaviour and natural disasters but Scientists have dismissed such notions as fanciful. Its most significant impact is likely to be on the tide, which will be higher than usual by up six inches depending on local geography.

Unfortunately for those that like meteor showers there is a down side to this years Super Moon. It will wash out all but the brightest fireballs from the springtime Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which is caused by debris left by Halley's Comet, which passes by Earth every 76 years.