A rare supermoon is set to shine bright over Edinburgh as it comes into its final phase.
Due to being closer to Earth, the 'super flower blood moon' will appear bigger and brighter to spectators.
So long as the cloudy and driech weather eases, Edinburgh residents will be able to get the very best sight of the flower moon on Wednesday May 26 just after moon-rise and moon set.
According to the moonrise and moonset calculator , moon set is at 04.25am and moon rise will be at 10.00pm. This will be when the moon is the very closest to the Earth and so it will appear larger.
But if the clouds haven’t budged, Edinburgh locals may still catch the spectacular vision on May 27th with 99.5% illumination.
The last supermoon was in April and spectators have seen the full moon appearing around 14 percent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the standard full moon.
What is a supermoon?
Despite a larger appearance, the supermoon does not physically grow in size.
The moon’s orbit around the earth is in fact an ellipse which means at certain times, it moves closer to the earth (a lunar perigee) and at other times it orbits further away from us. (a lunar apogee).
If a full moon coincides with a lunar perigee, it creates a supermoon.
Due to it being so close to Earth, a super full moon appears 30% brighter than a micro full moon and about 16% brighter than an average full moon.
What will the weather be like?
According to the Met Office, unfortunately Edinburgh is forecasted to have heavy rain and clouds throughout Wednesday. However by Thursday, the rain should ease and breaks in the cloud should occur throughout the day.
Hopefully the breaks in the cloud will allow Edinburgh to catch a glimpse of the supermoon above the city.
Larger moons will be visible tonight and the days after, so there should still be plenty of opportunities to see the spectacular sight.
