Strawberry Moon seen between the Etihad towers, Grand Hyatt Hotel & Bab Al Qasr structures in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Last supermoon of the year brightens UAE skies



Stargazers and amateur astronomers were treated to brilliant supermoon display in the skies of the UAE on Thursday night.

The last of the year, it appeared bigger and brighter than other full moons because it orbited closer to Earth.

Called the "strawberry moon", it does not actually appear to be pink.

Instead the annual event got its name from native Americans who noted its appearance at the start of strawberry harvesting season.

This was the third supermoon of the year. The first was in April and appeared 7 per cent bigger and 14 per cent brighter than a regular moon.

The second appeared in May and was the biggest and brightest one of the year.

Other coming astronomical events in the UAE include the Perseid meteor shower in August, the Leonid meteor shower in November and the Geminid meteor shower in December.

In pictures: astronauts take a six hour space walk outside the International Space Station

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, left, of the European Space Agency is attached to a foot restraint while installing new solar panels on the International Space Station, with US astronaut Shane Kimbrough. AFP