RIYADH: The Kingdom witnessed a total lunar eclipse for over 100 minutes Wednesday, an event which has not been seen in this part of the world for 40 years. It is scheduled to recur in 2018, seven years from now. During a total lunar eclipse the moon disappears completely in the earth's shadow. This eclipse was seen in the Arab region, America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. According to Saleh Bin Muhammad Al-Saab, Supervisor of the National Center for Astronomy at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), the total lunar eclipse seen over the Kingdom is a rare event. The beginning of the eclipse was when the moon entered the penumbra at 8.24 P.M. while the start of the partial lunar eclipse was at 9.22 P.M. The end of the partial lunar eclipse was at 1.02 A.M. The end of the total eclipse was at 2 A.M. The total lunar eclipse will occur with the passing of the moon in the center of the shadow of the earth known as the “umbra” hence making the moon appear in complete darkness unlike the other total lunar eclipses appearing as bright or dark-red. Such an eclipse took place over the Kingdom in 1971 and the last lunar eclipse witnessed by the earth, but was not seen over the Kingdom, was in 2000. A lunar eclipse can be seen with the naked eye and does not need special sighting equipment unlike a solar eclipse. For a lunar eclipse a telescope can be used or even binoculars. Astronomers expected the phenomenon to take about three hours, 39 minutes and 17 seconds, beginning with the moon's entry in the earth's shadow and finally exiting from it. Eastern Asia, eastern Australia and New Zealand missed the last stages of the eclipse because they occured after moonset. The next total lunar eclipse is on Dec. 10. There will be partial solar eclipses on July 1 and Nov. 25. The next total solar eclipse will take place on Nov. 13 2012, in a track running across North Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and southerly South America.
