Blue supermoon: Clear skies expected for spectacle in Hawke’s Bay

Conditions will generally be fine and there is expected to be ample opportunity to view the lunar spectacle on the east coast. Photo / Michael Craig

Hawke’s Bay stargazers hoping to catch a glimpse of Thursday’s rare blue supermoon are likely to be in luck, with MetService predicting relatively clear skies throughout the day and into the night.

The rare display will be the biggest and brightest moon of any this year – and also the second super-full moon to appear in a single calendar month.

While a blue moon occurrs once every two to three years, one that coincides with a supermoon is rarer.

MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said conditions would generally be fine and there would be ample opportunity to view the lunar spectacle, which won’t be seen again in New Zealand’s night skies for nearly a decade.

“For the most part, it should be fine. There should be plenty of clear sky to see the moon,” Glassey said.

“There may be some high cloud obstructing it at times, but it wouldn’t be too much.”

Those heading outside in the early morning and late night should wrap up warm, with colder temperatures predicted as winter keeps its claws stuck in the region.

“We’re forecasting some pretty cold temperatures, particularly in the mornings,” Glassey said.

Temperatures would drop to around 2C in Napier and Hastings.

Despite this, Glassey said afternoons would be a bit more pleasant, with average temperatures reaching 16C-17C.

“[We’ve got] pretty nice warm afternoons for this time of year.”

He said there was no rain predicted during the supermoon period.

Parts of the South Island, however, may not be so lucky when it comes to prime viewing opportunities.

MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said on Tuesday there were a lot of clouds predicted along the West Coast and around Nelson for Thursday night.

“But hopefully, it should be lovely in eastern regions,” Wotherspoon said.

Napier astronomer and Holt Planetarium director Gary Sparks says people should head for the coast to get the best views of the blue supermoon.

Hawke’s Bay astronomy afficionado Gary Sparks, who runs the Hawke’s Bay Holt Planetarium in Napier, said those wanting to be at the heart of the action should head to the coast.

He said the best views would be “right at the waterfront”, so you could see the moon appearing as if it was coming out of the ocean.

“It will be huge. It’ll appear like it did in that movie Moonfall.”

Sparks said as long as people had a view of the eastern horizon, they would likely get a good glimpse.

“You don’t have to be right on the beach, you could be up in the hills somewhere. You just want to be able to see as close to the eastern horizon as you can.”

The moonrise for Napier would be at 5.51pm, so Sparks said people should look to be in their prime positions around 5.45pm.

If people looked closely enough (even better with a telescope), they might even spot a special precursor to the main event.

“What’s really neat is that [the moon] is going to be right beside Saturn as well. You’ll see Saturn come up first as a small dot, and then about 10-15 minutes later, you are going to see this monstrous thing come out of the water.”

People looking out for the spectacle will likely see the biggest and brightest moon this year.

“Supermoons look about 8 per cent bigger and about 16 per cent brighter than an average full moon,” Stardome astronomer Rob Davison said.

The last blue supermoon was in 2009, and the next wasn’t due until 2032.

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.