Stargazers witnessed a rare celestial coincidence – a partial lunar eclipse occurring simultaneously with a supermoon yesterday morning.
The spectacle was only visible in the kingdom for a short period of time, between 5.12am and 5.25am.
The eclipse coincided with the full moon of Rabi Al Awal (first month of spring in the Islamic calendar), with citizens and residents gearing up to perform Salat Al Kusuf (eclipse prayers) during the event.
Astronomer Mohammed Al Asfoor said the supermoon signalled the end of summer and the beginning of the autumn season.
During the event, the supermoon was about 357,000km from the Earth in its elliptical orbit, and appeared to observers to be about 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it is at its apogee, when it is farthest from the earth.
This full moon is called the ‘harvest moon’ and is the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox, which will be on Sunday, marking the end of summer and the official beginning of autumn.
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