Super Blue Moon 2023: Rare spectacle lights up skies across the world– in pictures

Stargazers are in for a double treat this week: a rare blue supermoon with Saturn peeking from behind. The cosmic curtain rises Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month, the reason it’s considered blue. It’s dubbed a super moon because it’s closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.

This one will be the closest full moon of the year, just 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) or so away. That’s more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) closer than the August 1 supermoon. Saturn will be also be visible as a bright point that will appear to circle clockwise around the moon as the night wears on.

On the night of August 31, the moon will be closer to the UAE than ever before. The Al Thuraya Astronomy Center in Mushrif Park is offering a paid two-hour public viewing session that will feature an informative talk, telescope observations, and a photography session using the telescopes.

Here are some of the most stunning images the rare blue moon from all around the world. [In pic: The moon appears in the sky, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 30, 2023. ]

The "Blue Supermoon", the second full moon of a calendar month, rises behind Galata tower in Istanbul on August 30, 2023.

A full moon known as the "Blue Moon" rises behind the Temple of Poseidon, in Cape Sounion, near Athens, Greece, August 30, 2023.

A moon is seen above the clock tower of the Monastery of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem's Old City, August 30, 2023.

The moon is pictured over the Ayasofya-i Kebir Camii or Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey August 30, 2023

The moon appears in the sky, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 30, 2023.

Vehicles travel over the Coronado bridge as the moon rises in the distance in Coronado, California, US, August 29, 2023.

The 'Blue Moon' rises over Doha city on August 30, 2023.

A picture taken from the Israeli city of Rosh Haain shows the 'Blue Moon' rising over the West Bank, on August 30, 2023.