JEDDAH: The Kingdom and most Arab countries are scheduled to witness a total lunar eclipse for the first time in 40 years on June 15. The total phase of the eclipse, which is thought to be the rarest and darkest in history, will last 100 minutes. Maj. Abu Zahra, President of the Astronomy Society in Jeddah, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette the eclipse will actually begin when the moon enters the faint outer portion, or penumbra, of the earth's shadow a little over an hour before it begins moving into the umbra. The penumbra, however, is visible to the eye until the moon becomes deeply immersed in it. He said sharp-eyed viewers may get their first glimpse of the penumbra as a fade smudge on the left part of the moon's disk at around 9.23 P.M. Makkah time. The total eclipse begins at 10.22 P.M. when the moon passes entirely out of the earth's umbra and reaches its peak at 11:13 P.M. He said this rare total lunar eclipse was seen in the Kingdom's skies on May 18, 1970. A similar eclipse took place in 2000 but was not seen in the Kingdom.
