Don't miss rare Super Moon over Co Kildare this evening

A rare "super moon" will make the full lunar disc appear 14% bigger and up to 30% brighter than usual as it rises above the rooftops today.

The event is the result of the moon coming closer to Earth than it has done for 69 years.

Experts say the sight won't be repeated again until November 25, 2034.

At 11.23am the gap between the Earth and the moon will close to its shortest point, known as 'perigee' - a distance of 356,510km.

Sky watchers in Co Kildare will have to wait a little longer before the full moon emerges in all its glory shortly before 5pm.

Observers will also be treated to an additional "low-hanging moon" effect -an optical illusion caused by the moon being close to the horizon, where it can be measured against familiar objects such as trees and houses.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the UK-based Society for Popular Astronomy, said: "I'm always pleased for people to get their binoculars out and look up at the craters and the seas on the surface of the moon."

The last time the moon was this close to the Earth was in 1948.