From supermoons to bright meteor showers, there are plenty of astronomical events to light up the UAE’s skies this year.
A pink supermoon this week and the Quadrantids meteor showers in January already wowed stargazers, but the best is yet to come.
While some parts of the world will experience a solar and lunar eclipse, the Emirates’ skies will also host dazzling celestial events.
The National lists the top seven must-see sky shows of 2021.
May 26: a full Moon supermoon
This supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of the year. It will be at its closest approach to the Earth, meaning it will appear larger than a regular full Moon.
The pink supermoon this week was 7 per cent bigger and 14 per cent brighter, but the coming one will be even more striking.
Stargazers in Australia, parts of the US and western South America will experience a total lunar eclipse of the supermoon.
According to the Dubai Astronomy Group, early Native American tribes knew this full Moon as the Full Flower Moon because it was when spring flowers were in abundance.
June 24: the last supermoon of the year
This will be the last chance to spot a supermoon in 2021. It will be a full Moon and will appear in UAE skies.
It will not seem as big as the one in May, but it will still be bright enough to spot with the naked eye.
Native American tribes called this event the ‘Full Strawberry Moon’ because it indicated the time to gather ripened fruit and coincides with the peak of the strawberry harvesting season.
August 2: best time to observe Saturn
During the Saturn opposition, the gas giant will be in a straight line with the Sun and the Earth and will be visible all night long. It will make a close approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated.
The Dubai Astronomy Group said this would be the best time to photograph Saturn, its rings and a few of its brightest moons.
The planet is the second largest in the solar system and has 82 moons.
Using telescopes to view the planet will enhance the experience.
August 12-13: Perseids meteor shower
This is one of the best meteor showers in the UAE and is visible annually.
At its peak, the shower produces up to 60 meteors an hour and can appear as fireballs shooting across the skies. The event takes place from July 17 to mid-August but is at its most intense from August 12 to August 13 in the Emirates.
The shower is caused by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862.
It leaves behind a long trail of dust and debris during its 133-year orbit around the sun.
When Earth passes through the comet’s debris each year, it creates the meteor shower.
The debris collides with the atmosphere and disintegrates, causing a colourful show. The comet made its closest fly-by to our planet in 1992; the next one will be in 2126.
It is recommended to watch the meteor shower away from light pollution.
August 19: see Jupiter, largest planet in the solar system
This will the best time to see Jupiter and its four largest moons, which will appear as dots next to the planet.
The event is called Jupiter at opposition takes place when the gas giant is at its closest approach to Earth.
Like the Saturn opposition, it will be in a straight line with Earth and the Sun, with its face fully illuminated.
A telescope will enhance the viewing experience, while a pair of binoculars would help spot the planet’s moons.
November 18: Leonids meteor shower
The Leonids meteor shower is also known to produce fireballs, which makes the event appear brighter in the skies.
While these showers are not as visible in the UAE, they still put on a stellar show if the weather is favourable and if they are observed away from light pollution.
They are known to be among the fastest meteors, travelling at speeds of 71 kilometres a second.
December 14: Geminids meteor shower
The Geminids are the best meteor showers of the year in the UAE, with about 120 of them shooting across the skies each hour.
They are the most visible meteors in the Emirates and can be spotted without binoculars or telescopes.
Geminids are leftovers of 3200 Phaethon, which is either an asteroid or extinct comet, according to the US space agency Nasa.
The dust left behind by the space rock burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere, making the "shooting stars" visible to sky gazers.
Geminids meteor shower 2020 in the UAE - in pictures
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence