Partial lunar eclipse witnessed in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

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Bahrain witnessed a partial lunar eclipse yesterday morning, as observed by astronomer Mohammed Redha Al Asfour.

This celestial event coincided with the full moon of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1446 AH and the moon’s “perigee” point — its closest distance to Earth in its elliptical orbit — at approximately 357,000 kilometres. As a result, the moon appeared 14% larger and 30% brighter than when at its farthest point, or “apogee.”

Dubbed the “Harvest Moon,” this full moon is the closest to the autumnal equinox, which falls on September 22, marking the transition from summer to fall.

Penumbra The partial eclipse began when the moon entered Earth’s penumbra at 3:41am, local time, dimming its light. By 5:12am, the moon started entering Earth’s shadow, with about 3% of its disk disappearing. However, residents of Bahrain could not view the eclipse in its entirety, as the moon set at 5:27am.

Al Asfour noted that the eclipse prayer lasted only 15 minutes, from 5:12am until the moon’s setting at 5:27am. He further added that the partial eclipse was visible to varying degrees across parts of western Asia, Europe, Africa, and most of the Americas.

Regions such as eastern Russia, eastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, parts of Antarctica, and northwestern North America were outside the visibility range of this eclipse.