Stargazers will be looking up to the night sky on Wednesday as a 'supermoon' is expected to bask above Edinburgh.
If conditions stay clear, the astronomical display should be visible right across the UK. July's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, as the Scottish Daily Express reports, as male deer shed and regrow their antlers around this time of year.
Supermoons being named in relation to nature comes from a Native American system that used different moons to keep track of the seasons, according to Anna Ross, a planetarium astronomer at Royal Museums Greenwich, London.
For example, last month we saw June's Strawberry Moon shine above us — which is a reference to the strawberry picking season in the region of North America and Canada. It also can be seen with a reddish hint of colour.
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Here is everything you need to know about the Buck Super Moon, including how to see it tonight and what weather to expect in Edinburgh.
What is a supermoon?
A supermoon occurs when a full moon is near its closest point to the Earth in its orbit. This happens because the moon orbits the Earth on an elliptical path, rather than a circular one.
Ms Ross added: "A supermoon means that as the moon is a little closer to us, it will appear slightly bigger in the sky. The apparent difference between the size of the full moon at its closest and farthest points is only around 14% and, although if you were on the moon its brightness wouldn't change, being that bit closer, it also overall appears to be around 30 per cent brighter to us here on Earth.
"The average distance of the moon from the Earth is 384,400km, but the Moon will reach its closest point this lunar month on July 13 at 9.08am, when it will be 357,264 km away. The exact moment of the full moon closest to this point is also on July 13, but at 7:37pm."
She says there is no formal limit to how close the full moon needs to be to the Earth to count as a supermoon, adding: "Depending on your definition, you could say that 2022 has two, three or four supermoons, with everyone seeming to be in agreement that June and July's full moons will both be super."
Where will the Super Buck Moon in Scotland be visible?
Mrs Ross has said that the Super Buck Moon will be visible on the night of Wednesday, July 13. The good news is you can see it from any part of the country as long as the skies are clear.
She said: "The best time to view this supermoon will be any time during the night of the 13th July, when the moon will rise in the east just after sunset, and set in the west a little before sunrise. There is no particular location you need to be to observe this event as this is a bright full moon. As long as the night is clear of clouds it will be easy to spot whether you are in a light-polluted city or a dark area of countryside."
The Royal Astronomical Society's deputy executive director Dr Robert Massey said "there is a lot of these 'supermoons", but added: "The moon is a beautiful object - it is a fantastic thing, go out and look at it and enjoy the view."
According to Massey, on Wednesday the moonrise time in Edinburgh is 10.35pm. To get the perfect view, it's best to be near the sea or away from hills.
He continued: "So that's when you should start looking but to see it then of course you need a perfect horizon, so you need to be looking out over a very flat landscape or the sea."
For tonight, the Met Office forecast states: "Mainly dry with some late sunshine this evening. The rest of the night will be mostly dry with clear periods."
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