RIYADH: A partial lunar eclipse that will occur on June 26 will not be visible in any part of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.
“But, this eclipse will be an important event for astronomers, scientists and astrologers all over the world,” said Dr. Zaki A. Al-Mostafa, a senior Saudi scientist working at the National Astronomy Center, based at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh.
Al-Mostafa said on Thursday that this first lunar eclipse of 2010, to occur at the moon’s ascending node, would be visible from much of the Americas, the Pacific and eastern Asia.
He, however, said that the eclipses or for that matter any astronomical events were more important for Islamic states and Muslims in general all over the world.
This was due to the astronomy-based calendar Muslims practice worldwide.
“The lunar eclipse of June 26 will occur at the moon’s ascending node in western Sagittarius, about three degrees east of the Lagoon Nebula”.
In fact, the timing of the eclipse will only favor those in the western halves of North and South America, who’ll see the event before moonset as dawn approaches on the 26th June, said Al-Mostafa.
He called on people to think of this lunar cover-up, which occurs during full moon, as a warm-up act for the total solar eclipse that follows at new moon two weeks later.
