A supermoon is when a full moon is closest in its orbit to Earth. It appears 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal.
A blue moon is the second full moon in a month and doesn’t actually appear blue.
A blood moon is a red tint the Earth’s shadow casts on the moon during a lunar eclipse. It is rare for all three of these to happen at the same time.
Thick clouds on the horizon made it impossible for Dubai residents to fully enjoy the ‘super blue blood moon’ on Wednesday but they were proud to go out in the open and brave the cold wind to witness a rare triple celestial treat.
The Musaliar family drove for 45 km all the way from Al Barsha 1 and arrived at Dubai Astronomy Group observatory in Mushrif Park before 5 pm to get the best view to see simultaneously an extra big ‘supermoon’, a blue moon, and a total lunar eclipse on a single night.
“The last time this rare celestial occurrence happened was more than 50 years ago. Of course, I’m very proud to be part this historical phenomenon”14-year old Manal Musaliar told.
“Unfortunately we did not see the full lunar eclipse because of the thick clouds but at least we saw the super moon. This is the second extra huge moon which showed up this month, therefore making it a super blue moon,” added the Grade 9 student at Gems Modern Academy Dubai.
“It was beautiful and amazing,” Hassan Ahmad Al Hariri, CEO of Dubai Astronomy Group said. “Though it was a working day, people of all ages – parents and their kids – came and exceeded our expectations of hosting around 500 people.”
Al Hariri said the thick cloud on the horizon made it impossible for people in Dubai to catch the full lunar eclipse which happened at around 6.03pm (UAE time).
“The best view was on the country’s east coast, the seaside of Fujairah. I got a report that the full lunar eclipse, which lasted for around three minutes, was seen in full view from there,” Al Hariri told.
At around 6.25pm, the clouds dissipated and the moon showed up with partial lunar eclipse. At this time, Indian mum, Pooja, carried her four-year-old son, Ekaagra, to get a good view of the sky.
Even Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai was excited about seeing the rare moon and posted this stunning picture of it behind the iconic Burj Khalifa.
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Also Read: Super Blue Blood Moon || Photo Gallery || See Best Pics from all around the world
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