KUCHING, Aug 30 — Malaysians will have the opportunity to witness a rare celestial phenomenon called the Blue Supermoon tonight, provided the sky is clear.
This phenomenon coincides with the Hungry Ghost Festival, which would make it even more memorable for those celebrating.
The Hungry Ghost Festival is held as the community believes that ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors will come out of the “lower realm” during the occasion which falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar Chinese calendar.
According to the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) website, the moon will enter a perigee phase at 11.52pm tonight, where it will be the closest to Earth and will appear larger and brighter, also known as the supermoon phenomenon.
Tonight’s supermoon phenomenon however is among the rarest, which is why it is called the Blue Supermoon.
Each month usually hosts only one full moon, but blue moons sometimes arise because the lunar cycle is 29.5 days long — just short of the length of an average calendar month. This difference means that some months see two full moons.
This Blue Moon occurrence itself is already rare — once every two or three years, but the Blue Supermoon is even rarer, said to occur once every 10 years or so, according to a New York Times report.
The report also said the moon can be seen from everywhere on earth unlike some other celestial events, as everyone on earth sees the same phases of the lunar cycle at night, so the blue supermoon will be visible everywhere.
“That means all you have to do is look up at the night sky to see it,” it said. — Borneo Post
