Mumbai disappointed as clouds take the shine out of 'supermoon'

04 December,2017 04:28 PM IST |  Mumbai  |  A Correspondent

Most Mumbaikars left disappointed as cloudy weather denies them the experience of witnessing the last and brightest full moon of the current calendar year


Even as stargazers in the city were looking forward to witnessing yesterday's supermoon, which was also the last full moon of the year, many were left disappointed as the moderately cloudy sky played spoilsport. The supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is closest to the earth. Supermoons appear about 14 per cent bigger and about 30 per cent brighter than a normal full moon as seen from the Earth.


Supermoon. Pic/ Shadab Khan

While Mumbaikars did get to see a brighter moon than usual, the cloudy sky meant they weren't able to enjoy the sight to the fullest. "I wanted to take some really good photographs of the moon, but because of the weather I got an unclear view," said Ratnakar Sawant, an avid photographer.

According to weather experts, the cyclonic storm Ockhi in southern India was responsible for the cloudy weather. The IMD, too, had predicted cloudy weather in parts of north Konkan, including Mumbai.

A flamingo installation stands out against the bright backdrop of the supermoon. Pic/ Shadab Khan

Arvind Paranjpye, director of Nehru Planetarium said, "The moon was supposed to start rising at 6.58 pm yesterday, but was covered in passing clouds so we couldn't see much. Most Mumbaikars would have experienced the same thing. By about 9 pm, the sky was clearer, but the moon wasn't interesting enough at that time, as it had already risen."

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