Supermoon dazzles skygazers in Qatar

The supermoon over Qatar yesterday turned out to be a remarkable event, with a clear sky offering a fine view of one of rare celestial events. Sky enthusiasts all over the country made sure not to miss the rare opportunity of seeing the Earth’s only satellite in its largest and brightest form.
Last evening, many turned up at Corniche to see the magnanimity of Moon. Many had their cameras focused on to the Earth’s satellite to capture the rare phenomenon. Many dashed off to the outskirts of Doha to gawk at the sky in total darkness while others enjoyed the view from within the city. Also, various events as full moon yoga and desert safaris were organised. The social media too was abuzz with pictures of supermoon shot by enthusiasts.
Supermoon occurs when the Moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth on its elliptical orbit. This results in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.
Supermoons are not a rare occurrence in itself. However, yesterday the Moon so big and so bright, that Nasa is calling it the “extra-super Moon”. The supermoon yesterday also marked the closest passing of the Moon to the Earth to date in the 21st century. The next extra large supermoon will be visible only in 2034. The phenomenon began here with moon rise at 4:58pm, when the Moon was just above the horizon. Though supermoon looked bigger with a reddish hue at this stage, slight haze made it difficult for many to witness the early stages of moonrise. The supermoon was 356,662 km from Doha with an illumination at 99.7% according to timeanddate.com.
“There was slight variation in the tide, though supermoon does not have much impact on the climatic conditions. However, the tides levels were higher than usual. This is because the tides are mostly generated by the Moon’s gravitational pull from one side of Earth to the other,” Abdullah Mohammed Al Mannai, Acting Director of the Department of Meteorology, Civil Aviation Authority, told The Peninsula..
The gravitational pull is greatest during the Full and New Moons because the Sun and Moon are aligned on the same or opposite sides of Earth. When the Moon is closer to Earth, as last night, the gravitational pull leads to larger variation between high and low tides.
“The super full moon is a unique occasion. We usually enjoy full moon yoga every month but supermoon yoga is very special for the lovers of holistic healing. There was good attendance for two events we had organised to mark the occasion,” said Rowad Ehlela, Business development Director, Evolve, a Qatar-based wellness company.