As the "biggest, brightest" moon in almost 70 years rises over the capital on Monday night, Canberrans watching the eastern horizon might be wondering what it is exactly that makes this moon so super.
Dr Brad Tucker, an astronomer at Mt Stromlo Observatory, said while the moon will be closer to the Earth, the super moon is actually bit of an "optical illusion".
"The orbit of the moon isn't a perfect circle, it slightly varies, and in fact it varies 50,000 kilometres in terms of its position relative to the Earth so when it's on the closer, perigee side, that's when we get these super moons," Dr Tucker said.
"The technical point where it is closest to the Earth is at 12.53am on Tuesday the 15th, however a full moon always rises at sunset. Now because of that, people always say the moon looks huge on the horizon. That's purely an optical illusion but that means that's when you're going to get the biggest effect of it.
"Because the moon is closer there is more illumination, there's more light coming from the moon so it does appear to be brighter and slightly bigger in the sky. If no one pointed it out you would not notice it."
However of the three super moons in this year, he predicted Monday night's would be the "superest".
The moon will be several hundred kilometres closer than the last super moon, and it will be the closet the moon has been to the Earth since 1948.
To get the full effect, people should watch the moon rise on top of a hill or mountain with uninterrupted views to the east, like Black Mountain or Mount Ainslie, Dr Tucker said.
"This is the super duper super moon this month so it's a nice chance to see it and it won't be this close again until 2034," Dr Tucker said.
"It is a rare thing to have, it's about the same occurrence that we get someone who looks like a Cheeto going up for the US Election to be honest, so it's a nice thing to remind us that there are these process that are bigger than us."
The moon is expected to rise about 7.20pm however Weatherzone meteorologist Graeme Brittain said cloud cover could hamper moongazers' chances of seeing this astronomical phenomenon.
"It's not looking too great to be honest. A low pressure system in south-east is going to direct showers across region on Monday evening that will obviously bring cloud and obscure your chances of seeing the moon rise," Mr Brittain said.
it's a nice thing to remind us that there are these process that are bigger than us
Dr Brad Tucker
"There will be breaks in the clouds but I wouldn't hedge my bets on it."
The next super moon will rise on December 14.