The moon will appear more orange when it rises, due to its proximity to the horizon.
“Whenever the moon rises it always appears quite colourful. There is often that red hue on the horizon when the moon is rising or setting,” Aoraki said.
“It’s the same reason why we have colourful sunsets – it’s the refraction of light in the atmosphere. When it rises, that’s when it’s at its most colourful and bright looking so it’s definitely the best time to see it.”
The average distance of the moon from Earth is about 384,000 km but at its furthest point it can get as far as 400,000km and it can get as close as 360,000km.
Friday’s supermoon comes at the same time as New Zealanders have another chance to see a comet with the naked eye.
Comet C/2023 A3 is expected to be visible in the western skies of the country until later in the week.
“You’re going to see a really bright planet which is Venus, and if you look below that to the right, you might see this little fuzzy patch in the sky. That’s the comet,” Aoraki told the Herald.
He said the comet was likely to have a tail extending from the back.
However, he said the problem with the full moon was it was a huge source of light and it would wash out the stars and comet in the sky.
“It will be much easier to see the comet once the moon sets or before it rises on Saturday and Sunday.”