The United Kingdom will witness a rare partial eclipse of a supermoon on Tuesday night. This month’s full moon, known as the Harvest moon, is one of four supermoons that will occur this year. These supermoons appear larger and brighter in the night sky due to the moon’s orbit being closest to Earth at perigee. Expected to be visible across most of the UK, cloud development may inhibit views for those in England and eastern Wales later in the night.
At approximately 7:15 p.m. BST on Tuesday evening, the full harvest supermoon will rise. At around 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday morning, a small shadow created by Earth will appear in the top right corner of the moon as the partial eclipse commences. There are two types of shadow, the light penumbra and the darker umbra, the latter of which will darken the Moon. While only about 4% of the Moon’s disc will be covered in darkness, the partial eclipse will reach its maximum at 3:44 a.m.
Supermoons are less common than full moons, with only four expected in 2021. Additionally, partial lunar eclipses occur infrequently, with the next event due in August 2026. A partial eclipse of a supermoon is an even rarer event. Full moons are named after aspects of life in the month they appear, and the harvest moon is thus named for occurring in proximity to the autumn equinox. The hunter moon in October and beaver moon in November will also be supermoons.
The event should be visible to the naked eye in areas with clear skies, with no need for telescopes or binoculars. Those who capture images of the partial eclipse are encouraged to upload them to BBC Weather Watchers
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