JEDDAH: People in Saudi Arabia will witness a partial solar eclipse and semi total lunar eclipse next month. “Compared to other East Asian countries, people in the Kingdom will have only a partial view of both eclipses,” said Ali Al-Shukri, head of physics department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
“Solar and lunar eclipses are natural phenomena that occur regularly and people in different countries would witness them in varying degrees, depending on the location of their countries on the globe,” Al-Shukri said.
Residents in some parts of East Asia, China, Russia and Mongolia will have a greater view of both eclipses.
According to a report carried by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a total solar eclipse will take place on Aug. 1 and will be visible from a narrow corridor that traverses half the earth.
“A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the moon’s penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, and most of Europe and Asia,” it added.
The NASA also reported that a partial lunar eclipse would take place on Aug. 16.
A deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible over most of Asia, Australasia, Europe, Africa and South America. Although only a partial eclipse, this eclipse should be quite spectacular, as most of the moon will pass inside the Earth’s umbral shadow at maximum eclipse.
“People in Riyadh will not be able to see the solar eclipse as well as their counterparts in the Eastern Province,” Al-Shukri said. However, he pointed out that Saudis and expatriates in many parts of the Kingdom would witness 80 percent of the lunar eclipse.
He said the western region of Saudi Arabia that includes Makkah would witness a total solar eclipse in 2027, the central region in 2034.
Saudi Arabia’s eastern region will not see a solar eclipse until 2100. Eclipses can take place whenever the sun, the earth, and the moon are aligned in or nearly in a straight line.
