TONIGHT’S supermoon is the biggest and brightest of the year, but the weather may impede skywatchers’ view later in the evening.

The full moon will create an impressive spectacle for people in Gloucestershire, but those who want to enjoy it should make sure they do so early as clear skies will only last until around 10pm this evening.

Native American tribes also refer to January’s first full moon as a ‘wolf moon’, as wolves howl more during their breeding season in January and February.

A supermoon happens when a full moon or new moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to the Earth.

Its orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle; it is elliptical (oval shaped), which means the distance between the moon and the Earth varies.

Astrologer Richard Nolle first coined the term supermoon in 1979.

He said it was "a new or a full moon that happens when the moon is at or near its closest approach to Earth in its orbit".

A super full moon looks about 30 per cent brighter, or 14 per cent bigger than average to skywatchers because it is closer to Earth.

A second full moon will appear in the night sky on the 31st January.

When two full moons appear in one calendar month the second is known as a ’blue moon’, as this only happens around once every two and a half years, which explains the popular saying ‘once in a blue moon’.