Rare & Heavenly Blue Supermoon Phenomenon Illuminated M’sian Skies on Merdeka Night

Malaysia and neighbouring countries were blessed with a rare celestial phenomenon over the past two nights called the “Blue Supermoon”, in which the natural satellite is unusually close to our planet.

The phenomenon occurs once every 10 years or so, whereby both a supermoon (when the moon appears bigger and brighter than usual) and a blue moon (two full moons in a month) happen simultaneously.

In our country, the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) managed to capture some of the clearest photos of the phenomenon up close on the early mornings of Merdeka Day.

In a Facebook post, JUPEM shared 4 majestic images of the phenomenon which were taken by its state departments in Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya, Pahang, Penang and Labuan.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, Facebook user Martin Abbugao posted several stunning photos he took of the Super Bluemoon at Marina Bay Sands yesterday.

Shared on the CloudSpotting & SkySpotting Singapore Facebook group, the scale of the Super Bluemoon was in full view as Abbugao took the photo with several people and a platform in the foreground.

Besides that, in Bogor, Indonesia, TikTok user bims_stagram posted a video of him capturing an otherworldly time-lapse of the Super Bluemoon and the planet Saturn.

The video has since gone viral, garnering over 1.8 million views and more than 97,900 likes in just 16 hours.

@bims_stagram Super Blue Moon dan Konjungsi Planet Saturnus ??? Fenomena langit langka yang yang terjadi pada tanggal 30-31 Agustus 2023. Terjadi tiga fenomena langit sekaligus dalam satu waktu, yaitu fenomena Supermoon, Bluemoon dan konjungsi Planet Saturnus. Peristiwa ini terjadi mulai pukul 18.00 WIB – 5.30 WIB, puncak dari fenomena ini yaitu pada pukul 23.50 WIB. Saat puncak Super Blue Moon semalam, Bulan berada pada posisi terdekat dengan Bumi yaitu berjarak sekitar 350.000km. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan permukaan Bulan terlihat 7% lebih besar dan 16% lebih cerah dari biasa. Sedangkan fenomena Bluemoon atau “bulan biru” hanyalah istilah yang dipakai untuk menamai fase purnama ke dua yang terjadi pada satu bulan. Dengan kata lain saat Bluemoon, Bulan TIDAK akan berwarna biru! ?: Fujifilm X-T30 | iPhone 11 | ?: Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 5″ AZ GMT +7 | -6.5517758, 106.6291304 Bogor, Indonesia #SuperBlueMoon #SuperMoon #BlueMoon #SuperBlueMoon2023 ♬ Storytelling – Adriel

Awesome! Did you guys manage to witness the Super Bluemoon over the past two nights? If so, do share your photos of the phenomenon with us in the comments!

Also read: India Becomes First Country in the World to Land on the Moon’s South Pole!