Rare blue supermoon to light up Saudi Arabia’s skies

The first supermoon of 2024 is set to light up the night skies of Saudi Arabia on Monday night, a rare event during which the moon is closer to Earth and thus appears larger and brighter than usual.

According to Majed Abu Zahra, the Director of the Jeddah Astronomy Society (JAS), the supermoon – also called “seasonal blue moon” – occurs roughly once every two and a half years.

The seasonal blue moon is the third full moon out of four during the current season that falls between the summer solstice and autumn equinox.

Despite the name, the moon will not appear to be blue, but will simply look like a regular full moon, the director clarified.

The term “supermoon” describes a full or new moon that happens when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest distance to Earth.

In this case, the distance between the moon’s and Earth’s centers will be 361,969 kilometers, Abu Zahra explained.

The supermoon will rise in the southeast after sunset and may initially appear orange-tinted due to dust and particles in the atmosphere scattering the reflected sunlight. However, as it moves higher in the sky, it will appear the usual silvery-white and remain visible all night until sunrise on Tuesday.

Abu Zahra noted that some observers may not notice a significant difference in the size of the moon due to potential obstructions, such as clouds or street lights.

He added that assessing its apparent size can be challenging when the moon is high in the sky.

The supermoon will have minimal impact on our planet, causing slightly higher and lower tides due to the moon’s gravitational pull, a normal monthly occurrence during full moons, according to the JAS director.

This extra pull from the supermoon will not result in unusual weather or geological activity.

This is an ideal time of the month to observe the brightly lit lunar surface, as the landscape appears flattened with short shadows due to the sun fully illuminating the moon’s face.