Jeddah: In a stunning astronomical display, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) captured on Saturday the year's first supermoon. The moon appeared larger and brighter than usual due to its relative proximity to Earth, reaching nearly full illumination at approximately 99.6% on Saturday.
According to Saudi Press Agency, President of the Jeddah Astronomy Society Eng. Majed Abu Zahra explained that the term 'supermoon' refers to a full moon that occurs near the closest point in the moon's orbit around Earth, known as the lunar perigee.
He noted that the moon was classified as 'super' because its distance from Earth was below average, with calculations indicating that on Saturday night it was approximately 362,312 kilometers away, placing it within the range of relatively large supermoons.
The moon appeared with a warm orange glow due to the scattering of blue light by dust and atmospheric particles, before turning to its usual silvery white as it rose higher in the sky.
A supermoon has no unusual effects on Earth; its primary natural impact is slightly higher tides, as the alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during perigee produces higher high tides and lower low tides than normal.