Look to the sky tonight and, if the weather’s on your side, you should be able to see the biggest full moon of the year.

Although the moon appears full for several nights in a row, it is only truly full for a fleeting instant – when the Moon lies 180 degrees opposite the sun, from the vantage point of Earth.

This full moon moment arrives on 19 February 2019, at 15:53 GMT.

That’s only 6 hours and 50 minutes after perigee, which is the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth.

The the coincidence of the full moon and the perigee means that tonight’s moon is technically a "supermoon", so it will appear much bigger and brighter than usual.

Of course, the sun doesn’t actually set in the UK until 17.22 on February 19, and the moon rise is only a few minutes earlier, at 17.11 GMT.

So the best time to see the Super Snow Moon will be immediately after sunset, at around 17.30 GMT.

However, it will be visible in the sky over the UK all night, until 07.50 on February 20, when it drops below the horizon.

Sky watchers in the United States will also have to wait for the moon to rise above the horizon before they can see the spectacle.

Moon rise is at around 17.46 EST on the East Coast, and 18.14 PST on the West Coast.

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Super Snow Moon 2019

  • How to see the Super Snow Moon
  • When is the next supermoon?
  • Astronomical events in February
  • When to see biggest supermoon
  • Why it’s called Super Snow Moon
  • Weather forecast
  • Best time to see Super Snow Moon

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