First supermoon of 2025, the Harvest Moon, rises tonight

The first supermoon of 2025 will appear in our skies tonight kicking off a series of lunar events.

The full Harvest Moon rises in Sri Lanka this evening and will be visible until early hours of tomorrow.

However, it will depend on weather conditions and cloud cover.

This will mark the start of a run of three consecutive supermoons in the final three months of 2025.

It will be the largest and brightest full Moon of the year so far and the first supermoon since November 2024.

The Moon will be about 224,600 miles from Earth compared to the average distance of 238,900 miles. According to NASA, this proximity will make the Moon appear about 30% brighter and 14% larger than a typical full Moon.

Scientifically, a supermoon happens when a full moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, called the perigee.

As the Moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle, sometimes it is closer and appears larger and nearly 30% brighter than a typical full moon. Although the difference in size is subtle to the naked eye, the Moon’s apparent size feels larger due to the “moon illusion,” especially when it is low near the horizon.

The supermoon’s increased gravitational pull can also cause slightly higher tides on Earth, according to scientists.

- Agencies