When you can see rare strawberry supermoon in Australia

The strawberry supermoon will be the final supermoon of 2021 and will begin rising over the coming hours before reaching its peak fullness early in the morning.

The April supermoon ahead of Thursday’s strawberry supermoon. Picture: Nicholas Eagar/NCA NewsWire

Just one month on from the super blood moon that wowed stargazers across the country, another incredible lunar event is just hours away from unfolding.

This time it will be a strawberry supermoon and will rise on Thursday onwards from 4.14pm AEST and dominate the sky until Saturday.

The supermoon trails the pink supermoon in April and the blood moon turned lunar eclipse last month.

While its name suggests otherwise, the strawberry supermoon won’t be pink or red in colour.

That’s because the name actually comes from the time of the year berries are ready for harvest in parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

RELATED: Stargazers marvel at super blood moon across Australia

The pink supermoon in April was the first of a handful major lunar events in 2021. Picture Josué Fede Boquín

The strawberry supermoon, which some don’t regard to be “super” due to its distance from earth, will be the final supermoon of the year.

Clouding forecast for the next few days however, may make it a little difficult to see.

NASA Science only marks up a supermoon if it comes within 363,300km of earth, while Farmer’s Almanac applies the namesake to anything within 360,000km.

Therefore not everyone will agree that this week’s strawberry moon is eligible for such a label, as it is expected to come within 361,558km of earth.

When can you see the strawberry supermoon?

Technicalities aside, the moon will still be a whopper, but Aussies may need to set an alarm if they want to get a glimpse of it during its peak.

It will be at its peak illumination at 4.39am AEST, so 2.39am for people in Western Australia, and 4.09am for those in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

While it will gradually reduce in fullness after its peak, it will still appear larger than normal until early on Saturday.

The next supermoon won’t be visible until June 14 next year.