This Moon is super

The desert will be the place to appreciate the moon being much bigger and brighter

The supermoon on Monday is because the moon is the closest it has been since 1948. Jon Nazca / Reuters

The last time the moon shone as brightly as it will this week, it would have been the main source of illumination in this part of the world. That supermoon in 1948 preceded the first street lights in Dubai by nearly 20 years but such is the headlong development of the UAE’s metropolises, some modern city dwellers might not even notice that the Moon on Monday night will be 14 per cent bigger in the sky and 30 per cent brighter than usual.

The phase and brightness of the Moon once was a key factor in desert travel and in fishing expeditions. Some reports also attribute to full moons the ability to influence everything from mood swings to cognitive functioning, raising the prospect of what a supermoon like this one might elicit.

Maybe this is the chance to remind ourselves of the pre-oil era and wander out into the desert for the evening to see the supermoon the way earlier generations once did. But don’t fret if you miss it, because the next similar supermoon is in 2034.