If you’ve had a moment to look up at the night sky in the last few evenings, you will have seen a waxing moon throwing more light than the usual monthly full moon.

Tonight is the night for what is called a Supermoon and while Supermoons are not unusual - they occur as a regular part of the moon's orbit of Earth – they do make for a magical night of illumination if you can brave the chill outside to see and bathe in the glow.

Mal Davies from North Coast Astronomy told the Lismore App a little about the moon we’ll see in the sky from early this afternoon.

“Today’s supermoon – or strawberry moon – rises at around 1.33pm in Sagittarius..so called when the moon coincides with perigree, technically perigree syzygy. Strawberry refers to the North American strawberry harvesting season, not the colour of the moon,” Mal explained.

Perigree - for those not in the know - is the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the earth.

The Lismore App also made contact with renowned astronomer Donna Burton, formerly of ANU and currently based at the Milroy Observatory located in Coonabarabran, NSW. Donna is also affiliated with the University of Southern Queensland.

Ms Burton – also known as Donna the Astronomer – told us that tonight’s moon will be 357, 658 kilometres away.

“There is no official definition of a Supermoon. The most common definition is that a Supermoon occurs when the centre of the Moon is less than 360,000 kilometres from the centre of the Earth,” Donna explained.

Ms Burton explained that Supermoons cast about 30% more light on our planet than when the moon is at its dimmest.

“… this is because as it is closer, more of the Sun's rays that reflect off the lunar surface make it to Earth. The closest supermoon of this century will occur on 6 December 2052,” she said.

“The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle, but elliptical, with one side closer to Earth than the other. As a result, the distance between the Moon and Earth varies throughout the month and the year. On average, the distance is about 382,900 kilometres from the Moon's centre to the centre of the Earth.”

“The point on the Moon's orbit closest to Earth is called the perigee and the point farthest away is the apogee. Perigee will occur tomorrow morning at 09:23 AEST. At that time the moon will be a mere 357,432 kilometres away. Tonight, at full phase, it will be at 21:51 pm AEST time making it visible right across Australia. It will be closer again on July 13 next month.”

And what of the emotional impact of a Supermoon?

Victoria Breheny is an astrologer and health practitioner based in Clunes. Ms Breheny has a Bachelor of Health science in Naturopathy, Advanced Diplomas in both Nutrition and Herbal Medicine, as well as post graduate studies in Astrology, Reiki, Native American Healing techniques, Medical Intuition and Kinesiology, all of which are applied in her business, Active Stillness.

Victoria says the full moon has an impact on people and it is even more potent when it’s closer to Earth, as is the case tonight.

“There’s a gravitational pull that impacts our bodies and our cells and the water in our bodies…the full moon can shine in the dark corners of our minds and emotions, on things that we’re ready to let go of,” Ms Breheny explained.

“A new moon can be a time to set intentions and a full moon is when some of those intentions might come to fruition and have a light shone on them. This moon is in Sagittarius so it’s highlighting the energy of that sign. Sagittarius is basically the essence of belief - questing and seeking truth. The flavour of Sagittarius is faith and something to believe in, a search for understanding, its energy is craving meaning and knowing,” she added.

“Across the globe, collective energy, everyone will experience quite differently. A Sag full moon can be about truth coming to light or things that people can change their opinion on. It’s also very optimistic energy, confident and expansive. People might get a bit more insight into what they want to put their energy into or what they want to expand within themselves and their truth.”

Rug up and step out tonight to see the light.