Partial eclipse of supermoon to be visible across Ireland on Tuesday night

By Jordan Reynolds, PA

A partial lunar eclipse of a supermoon will be visible across Ireland on Tuesday night.

A supermoon occurs when the moon appears 30 per cent brighter and 14 per cent bigger in the sky as it is in the part of its orbit where it is closest to the Earth.

The supermoon will be visible on Tuesday night and also for the next few nights, but it will be at its fullest on Tuesday.

The partial lunar eclipse – when the Earth’s shadow covers part of the moon – will occur at 3.45am and 4 per cent of the moon will be covered.

The partial eclipse will be visible for about an hour but it will peak at 3.45am.

"Met Eireann is forecasting mostly clear skies for the whole of Ireland so everyone should get to see this SuperMoon eclipse, a very rare event, so it is well worth staying up for and booking a day's holiday if you have work the next day," said David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.

"No equipment, just the naked eye, is needed to see the eclipse. But if you do have binoculars you will get a close up view," said Mr Moore.

There will be a supermoon four times this year, and the next partial eclipse will be in 2026.