UAE: ‘Strawberry Moon’ to light up the sky tonight
Moon to appear reddish and larger; special observation event at Dubai Astronomy Centre
Dubai: The UAE skies will be brightened up by the ‘Strawberry Moon’ tonight, June 14.
A Strawberry Moon is a ‘Super Moon’, which is a full moon or a new moon that appears at its closest point to Earth in its orbit and appears larger than normal.
Although the moon will not look like a strawberry or turn pink in colour, “it does appear in reddish colour when rising or setting”, according to NASA (North American Space Agency).
“The ‘Strawberry Moon’, as the last full moon of spring or the first full moon of summer is called, gained its name from the time of year when berries ripen,” NASA says on its website.
As it approximately coincides with the closest distance that the Moon reaches to Earth in its elliptic orbit (less than 360,000km), it results in a larger-than-usual size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth, according to astronomers.
Tonight’s moon is one of the four Super Moons of the year to grace the skies.
How to observe in UAE
Dubai Astronomy Group CEO Hasan Al Hariri told Gulf News: “To observe this amazing opportunity, we advise people to go to a high point or find an unobstructed area with for the best view of the eclipse.”
Special event
Dubai Astronomy group is organising an event at Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre at 6.30pm today where people can do naked-eye observation, telescopic observation, listen to talks and attend a Q&A session.