Maldivians take to the streets to witness Supermoon

The “supermoon” visible to the Maldives on March 20, 2011 around around 12.10 am midnight. HAVEERU PHOTO/ AHMED ABDULLA SAEED

By Ali Naafiz

MALE, March 20 (HNS) – Dozens of Maldivians took to the streets of the capital Male, and gathered in Hulhumale, to witness the “supermoon”, as a fluke of orbital mechanics brought the moon closer to Earth than it has been in more than 18 years, last evening.

Last night at around 12.10 am midnight, the moon arrived at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometres) away, making it appear some 14 percent larger and 32 percent brighter than normal.

“The moon has never caught my attention before; I’ve never spared any time to look at it. But today, it seems it’s an opportunity that one can get once in his lifetime,” an enthusiastic young Maldivian in the ‘Lonuziyaaraiykolhu’ area of capital Male said.

The Maldivian Association for the Advancement of Science (MAAS), meanwhile, organized a special ‘moon viewing’ event in Hulhumale, where they set up telescopes, providing the chance for enthusiastic Maldivians to have a much closer look at the “supermoon”.

“We made arrangements for anyone to come up to us at any time, starting from 8pm last evening, to view the moon. A lot of people turned up to view the moon; the turnout was much higher than our expectations,” the association’s founder member, Ahid said.

A large number of people also gathered at ‘Lonuziyaaraiykolhu’ area, the area of Boduthakurufaanu Magu where small stalls which sell locally made snacks, the ‘Thin Ruh’ park area and several other places, to witness the phenomenon.

“I came here to see the moon, just to have a look at it. I expect the moon to be as large and as beautiful as they say it is,” Ismail Hassan, 21, who was also at the ‘Lonuziyaaraiykolhu’ area, said.

At the special moon viewing event, maldives holidays organized by MAAS at the Hulhumale stage area from 8-11pm, the association gave two presentations to educate the crowd starring at the bright moon.

“The moon, at its nearest point to the Earth, was in mid-sky. So when people look at the moon through the telescope, their neck gets strained. Moreover, the moon was so bright it makes it difficult to look at it for long,” Ahid said.

Joyous comments erupted from several Maldivians on several social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook, with some describing the moon “a beauty that should be seen”.

The Moon’s distance varies each month between approximately 354,000km (220,000 miles) and 410,000 km (254,000 miles) due to its elliptical orbit around Earth. The moon has not been in a position to appear this large since March 1993.