UAE stargazers to miss lunar eclipse

Al Ain: UAE stargazers will miss out on seeing the year’s second lunar eclipse on Saturday as this penumbral eclipse will only be visible from American and African countries.

A penumbral eclipse is considered the least interesting and most difficult to witness even in areas where it is visible. The moon will make a small entry into the penumbral shadow of the Earth and then quickly move away on May 25, said Atif Hassan, an astronomer in Al Ain.

He said the total duration of the eclipse will be 33 minutes and 45 seconds, and it will be visible only in Central and Northern America and parts of Africa.

“It won’t be visible from anywhere in the Middle East,” he said.

It will be the second lunar eclipse out of the three lunar eclipses this year. The first was on April 25 and was visible from the UAE and other countries in the region.

A lunar eclipse, said the astronomer, occurs only when the moon is full. It happens when the sun, earth and moon line up and the earth’s shadow falls on the moon. A total eclipse occurs when the earth’s shadow completely covers the moon, he said.

Hassan said lunar and solar eclipses have different meanings for people of different civilisations and religions right from Babylonians times. People have feared eclipses for thousands of years, he said, adding that there is, however, no need to attach any superstitions to this natural phenomenon.

People in some cultures believe lunar and solar eclipses are a punishment given to the planets for the sins committed by humans. The ancient astrologers also believed that an eclipse has irrefutable consequences if it touches a key planet in a person’s birth chart.

Danish Kumar, an Indian astrologer in Al Ain, said only the moon’s southern limb will pass into the earth’s pale penumbral shadow. Such a shallow eclipse is only of academic interest, he said, adding that “it will not be considered for any religious activities by Hindus”.