Blue supermoon to light up UAE skies this week

Stargazers will be treated to a stunning celestial display on Monday as the first supermoon of the year graces the night sky in the UAE and around the world.

The blue – or sturgeon – s upermoon will be visible until Wednesday and will appear larger and brighter due to the full moon's closer proximity to Earth. It will become fully visible in UAE skies at about 8pm.

The Moon will not really turn blue, though the term is recorded as far back as 1528. “Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means 'betrayer moon' (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter),” said Nasa.

However, the US space agency said there are rare circumstances when the Moon may indeed appear blue. “It may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue.”

The Perseids meteor shower in the sky above Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah during a viewing event held by the Dubai Astronomy Group on August 12. All photos: Dubai Astronomy Group
About 300 people attended the observation event
Clear skies above Jebel Jais helping the skygazers spot the meteors clearly
A meteor shoots across the starry sky above Ras Al Khaimah
A skygazer uses a telescope for a better look
People look up towards the sky, which is lit up by the meteor shower

This full moon is also called the sturgeon supermoon, named after the sturgeon fish that was traditionally abundant in the Great Lakes, in the east-central US, during this time of year.

The Maine Farmers' Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s, and these have become widely known and used. Others include red moon, corn or green corn moon, barley moon, herb moon, grain moon and dog moon.

This comes shortly after the Perseids meteor shower lit up the night skies in the UAE and around the world.

Up to 100 meteors flew across the skies, which appeared as fireballs as they travelled at intense speeds.

After the blue supermoon, the next supermoon will be visible on September 18 – weather permitting, as always.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Blue supermoon to light up UAE skies this week

Appearing larger and brighter due to its close proximity to Earth, it will be visible for three days

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