Representational image.
Doha: The first solar eclipse of this year will be witnessed by the people of the Earth on Thursday, February 15, which coincides with the timing of the month of Jumada al-Akhir, 1439 AH.
Astronomer at the Qatari Calendar House Dr. Bashir Marzouk said that the first eclipse of this year will be a partial eclipse of the sun as 60% of the Sun's disk will be covered by the Moon at the peak of eclipse.
Solar eclipses result when the Moon moves between Earth and the Sun and the three celestial bodies form a straight line: EarthMoonSun.
The eclipse will start at 9:55 pm Doha time and will reach a maximum at 11:51 pm, Dr. Bashir Marzouk said, adding that the last phase of the partial eclipse at 1:47 a.m. on Friday, taking a period of three hours and 52 minutes.
The partial eclipse of the sun will be seen in the southern part of South America continent, Antarctica, parts of the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, while the people of Qatar and the countries of the Arab region will not be able to see it because it will occur at night in those areas. However, they can watch the partial eclipse via live broadcast from NASA or via YouTube in the Internet.
The importance of solar and lunar eclipses is that they confirms the accuracy of the astronomical calculations in the Hijri calendar. (QNA)
