Dubai: UAE residents will be able to catch a celestial event on Thursday evening as the last supermoon of the year – the strawberry moon – will light up the night sky across the world.
Although the moon won’t look like a strawberry or be pink in colour, it is expected to be a shade of gold, according to astronomers.
The ‘pink’ moon will be visible in the UAE at 7.04 pm on June 24.
The last three supermoons of the year took place on May 26, April 27, and March 28.
Why is it called a strawberry moon?
The pink moon is not a phenomenon nor does it have any scientific basis to its name – in fact, according to NASA, the name was coined by early Native Americans in the United States. The Algonquin tribes named it the strawberry moon as it indicated the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries in northeastern America.
Ibrahim Al Jarwan, member of the Arab Federation for Space and Astronomy, told Gulf News: “The strawberry moon will not be different than any other full moon that appears during the rest of the year in terms of colour. Despite its name, the full pink moon does not have the colour of its name,”
The strawberry moon marks the last full moon of spring or the first full moon of summer. Towards the end of June, the moon usually sits in a lower position in the sky and shines through more of our atmosphere.
“But it will be about 14 per cent bigger and around 30 per cent brighter,” he said.
The pink moon will be the last supermoon of 2021.
A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that nearly coincides with perigee resulting in a slightly larger lunar disk as viewed from Earth.
“The super moon is also known as the perigee full moon, and refer to the distance from the Earth to the moon. Apogee is the farthest point from the earth, while perigee is the closest point to the earth and appears the largest,” explained the Dubai Astronomy Group.
Where to watch the strawberry supermoon
- Date: June 24, 2021
- Time: 7-9 pm
- Location: Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre, Mushrif Park in Dubai
Tickets must be purchased in advanced online on Al Thuraya Astronomy Centre’s webpage. Visitors will be required to wear masks at all times while practising social distancing.
