A ‘blue’ supermoon will rise in the UAE this evening (Monday, August 19) and the spectacle will light up the sky for up to three nights. Supermoon is when a full Moon coincides with its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit.

Although it will not have the colour, tonight’s lunar spectacle will be what is known as ‘blue Moon’ — the third full Moon in a season with four.

When this happens, the Moon appears brighter and bigger than usual.

“You can typically see the supermoon for about two to three nights, with the peak brightness and size occurring (tonight) … when the Moon is closest to Earth. However, it will appear nearly full and still be impressive for the night before and after the peak,” Khadijah Ahmad, operations manager at the Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG), told Khaleej Times.

When will the Moon rise?
Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, director of the Abu Dhabi-based International Astronomy Centre, said the supermoon will rise right after sunset. It will result in a slightly larger size of the lunar disk as viewed from Earth.

Best spots to catch it
According to Khadijah, the supermoon will be visible across the country. “The best places would be open spaces with a clear view of the Moon, high elevated places, or waterfront areas where you can see the Moon's reflection on water.”

The DAG is also hosting a paid event at City Walk that will see astronomers help visitors capture photos on their phone through telescopes.

This will be the third celestial spectacle to light up the UAE skies this month. On August 12, hundreds of shooting stars zoomed across the night sky as Perseids meteor shower peaked. Mars and Jupiter had an extremely close pair-up on August 15.