The biggest and brightest supermoon of the year appeared in the UAE’s skies on Wednesday night.
The third supermoon of four expected this year, Wednesday's moon had the closest approach to Earth and was visible around the world.
It appeared across the Emirates from 6.07pm on Wednesday and could be seen with the naked eye.
It was 357,418 kilometres away, compared to the average distance of 384,472km.
The first supermoon appeared on May 16, at a distance of 362,127km from the Earth.
A second took place on June 14, which was 357,658km away, and the last one will be on August 12.
A supermoon refers to when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth at the same time as a full Moon.
“At its closest point, the full moon appears about 17 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than the faintest moon of the year, which occurs when it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit,” the US space agency Nasa said.
“Even though 17 per cent doesn’t make a big difference in detectable size, a full supermoon is a bit brighter than other moons throughout the year.”
The next supermoon will be at a distance of 361,409km.
