The much-awaited ‘Supermoon' dawned over the U.A.E. last night, but left star-gazers underwhelmed in terms of it appearing "huge”.
The Supermoon was, however, a dazzling bright white that was stunning more for its intensity than its size. "It just seemed like it was shining much, much brighter,” says Ankita Pal, a Dubai resident and Emirates 24|7 reader.
"It was not as large and ‘red' as expected,” says Anjali John, another star-gazer who had her eyes on the sky for most of the evening after sunset. "There was this super-shiny milky brightness,” she says.
In comparison to other full moons, supermoons can be up to 14 per cent closer and 30 per cent brighter, according to NASA.
The August 2014 supermoon will become full during the same hour that the moon comes closest to the Earth (lunar perigee), meaning it will outshine other full moons that have fallen on the same day as the lunar perigee.
But that is not all the action in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower is also visible - when Earth passes through the debris zone left by Comet Swift–Tuttle is expected to peak between August 10 and August 13, offering a view of 100 shooting stars per hour, conditions permitting.
In a normal year, observers count more than 100 Perseids per hour.
Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office says: "Lunar glare wipes out the black-velvety backdrop required to see faint meteors, and sharply reduces counts."
However, Cooke adds: "The Perseids are rich in fireballs as bright as Jupiter or Venus. These will be visible in spite of the glare."
"We see more fireballs from Swift-Tuttle than any other parent comet," he says.
Either way, all the action tonight is up in the sky for sure.
Source: Emirates 24|7