Clear night expected for viewing of Monday's supermoon

The last supermoon was in November last year. Photo / File

Most of the country will have a clear night sky on Monday to view the first and last supermoon of the year.

The full moon will happen early on Tuesday morning, when its proximity to the earth and to the sun means it will shine 30 per cent brighter and will appear around 14 per cent bigger.

Metservice Meteorologist Ciaran Doolin said a clear night was expected for most of the country, bar a couple of areas.

"Places like Fiordland, Southland and Otago, there's a weak front that's moving over there at that time", he said.

Doolin said there would also be some cloud around the Bay of Plenty, but predicted it would be fairly isolated.

"It might be tougher to get a clear night there but I think Auckland should be okay."

Doolin said the best bet for a clear viewing would be over most of the South Island - except for the bottom of the island - and then areas in the lower North Island like the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay.

The extraordinarily full appearing moon would be the only supermoon of the year.

However, it would be the first of three full moon supermoons in succession - two full moons in January next year would also count as supermoons.

The last phenomenon that occurred was in November last year, which was touted as the most spectacular "supermoon" since 1948.

"For most of the population, it'll be the best one they've seen in their lifetime," Stardome astronomer Dr Grant Christie told the Herald last year.