June to see partial lunar eclipse and other skyshows

The moon will be on its perigee, or the closest approach to the earth, on June 3 and the biggest and the brightest "super moon" will be born at sunset on 4 June, researchers said.

Besides the moon's perigee coinciding with full moon in June, this perigee will be the nearest to Earth this year, Ibrahim Al-Jarwan, a researcher at Sharjah Planetarium said.

The moon will position itself at a distance of 358,000 kilometers from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a super moon.

On June 4, a partial lunar eclipse will occur over the Indian Ocean but will not be visible in Arab countries between 10 and 12 UMT.

Lunar eclipses occur when the moon orbits behind Earth with respect to the sun, and the planet's shadow blocks light from the sun that would otherwise hit the moon. Since only a fraction of the moon will covered in shadow next week, astronomers call this type of eclipse a partial lunar eclipse, he added.

The lineup of sky shows will be capped by the transit of Venus on June 6 at 8:30 UAE local time will move directly between the Earth and the sun in a rare spectacle that will not be visible again until 2117. It is like a solar eclipse, but Venus blocks the sun instead of the moon. The last time it occurred was on 8 June 2004. Transits of Venus are very rare, coming in pairs separated by more than a hundred years. This June's transit, the bookend of a 2004-2012 pair, won't be repeated until the year 2117.

The Summer Solstice this year will occur on June 21 as the Sun will be at its highest path through the sky and the day is the longest.

               

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