Look up to the French skies tonight for the last super moon of 2022

Tonight (August 11), it will be possible to see the Full Sturgeon Super Moon, which is the last super moon of the year.

The Moon will appear 7% bigger and 14% brighter than normal because it is at the closest point to Earth in its orbit.

It will be at its brightest at 03:36, but will be visible for hours either side. If you miss it tonight, you can also catch it tomorrow (August 12) or over the weekend, although it will by then have started to wane.

The ‘sturgeon’ name comes from the native American Algonquin tribes, who noticed that it was easier to catch the fish at this time of year.

This moon is also sometimes called the Full Red Moon, the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon.

Don’t miss the Perseids shooting stars

The Perseids meteor shower should also be visible until August 25, although its activity will peak tomorrow night.

This annual ‘shooting star’ event is caused when the Earth passes through the stream of debris left in the wake of Comet Swift-Tuttle, bringing pieces of matter crashing into the upper atmosphere at high speed and lighting up the night sky.

The Perseids are so named because the meteors appear to come from the Perseus constellation, which is located near one of the brightest star formations, Cassiopeia the Queen.

They are visible to the naked eye, and sometimes it is possible to see around 100 meteors per hour.

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