Main pic: A Super moon captured over Raphoe last year by Kevin Shields.
Tonight will be the last chance for Donegal stargazers to see a ‘super blue moon’.
The rare occurrence has been putting on a spectacular show since Tuesday night – the first time it has been visible since 2009.
It will not be visible over Irish skies again until 2037, according to Astronomy Ireland.
It says that roughly once every two or three years, there can be two full moons in one calendar month and, when this happens, the second full moon is popularly known as the blue moon.
The organisation adds that the moon’s distance from the Earth can vary by 15%, which causes a change in brightness of 30%.
When a full moon happens around the time that the moon is closest to Earth it is called a supermoon, which usually occurs three times a year.
To have a blue moon occur at the same time that the full moon is a supermoon is “exceedingly rare”, Astronomy Ireland told RTE News.
“As there are 12 full moons every year, that means there have been 168 full moons to give one super blue moon,” CEO David Moore added.
“Technically, the exact instant the moon is full is Wednesday night as seen from Ireland. However, to the naked eye ‘looks’ full the night before and after. This is great for us as it helps combat the Irish weather, so we are urging everyone to look east at sunset to watch the super blue moon rising directly opposite on the horizon where the sun sets.”
Mr Moore said that the ideal time to watch is just as the moon is rising.
From Ireland, he said, this will happen from the slightly later time 8.50pm tonight.
Frances McCarthy, Education and Outreach Officer at Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, said that it is key to look towards an eastern clear horizon.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said that people in the west of Ireland will witness it, as long as they are not on the side of a mountain, adding that all that is needed is a clear eastern horizon to see the moon rising.
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