PHYSICS DEPARTMENT , KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS

                 SOLAR ECLIPSE of 29 March 2006

 

Eclipses can take place whenever Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned in or nearly in a straight line.  A lunar eclipse occurs when the full moon enters the Earth's Shadow as it orbits the earth.  Lunar eclipses can be observed from all the areas that will fall into the night-time during the lunar eclipse.  On the other hand, a solar eclipse occurs when new moon casts its shadow on the earth as it passes between the sun and the earth while it is orbiting the earth see the figures.

 

Circumstances for the solar eclipse occurrence on 29 March 2006 in some major cities of Saudi Arabia

 

Dammam

Riyadh

Makkah

Eclipse Circumstances

1:09 pm

12:59 pm

12:38 pm

Start of partial solar eclipse (1)

2:14 pm

2:07 pm

1:49 pm

Middle of partial solar eclipse (2)

3:16 pm

3:11 pm

2:58 pm

End of partial solar eclipse (3)

34%, 47 °

34%,  52 °

38%,  63 °

Eclipsed part of Solar disk ant sun's altitude at middle of the eclipse

 

 

 

The following Table lists major cities in Saudi Arabia, GCC, and Arab Countries where the partial solar eclipse of Wednesday 29 March 2006 will be visible.

 

Total Solar Eclipse of Wednesday 29/2/1426 H – 29 March 2006 (Visible as Partial Solar Eclipse in Arabian Peninsula)

 

City

Eclipse Starts

Sun's Altitude

Eclipse Ends

Sun's Altitude

Maximum Eclipse

The Eclipsed Area of The Sun

Sun's Altitude

Duration

Buraidah

12:52

65º

14:04

41º

14:04

43%

54º

2h:20m

Dammam

13:09

59º

15:17

34º

14:15

34%

47º

2h:08m

Dhahran

13:09

59º

15:17

34º

14:15

34%

47º

2h:08m

Hufuf

13:07

61º

15:14

36º

14:13

31%

49º

2h:07m

Jeddah

12:36

72º

14:58

49º

13:48

40%

64º

2h:22m

Khamis Mushait

12:46

73º

14:51

49º

13:49

23%

62º

2h:05m

Makkah

12:38

72º

14:58

49º

13:49

38%

63º

2h:20m

Madina

12:39

69º

15:05

46º

13:54

48%

60º

2h:26m

Riyadh

12:59

64º

15:11

39º

14:07

34%

52º

2h:11m

Tabouk

12:36

65º

15:10

46º

13:54

66%

59º

2h:34m

Taif

12:39

72º

14:58

48º

13:50

37%

62º

2h:19m

Kuwait City

13:04

59º

15:21

34º

14:14

46%

48º

2h:18m

Manama

13:10

59º

15:17

34º

14:15

33%

47º

2h:07m

Doha

13:13

59º

15:15

34º

14:16

28%

46º

2h:02m

Abu Dhabi

14:22

55º

16:14

32º

15:20

21%

43º

1h52m

Dubai

14:24

54º

16:17

30º

15:22

22%

42º

1h:53m

Muscat

14:35

50º

16:13

28º

15:26

15%

39º

1h:38m

Aden

12:58

74º

14:28

53º

13:44

8%

64º

1h:30m

Sana'a

12:52

74º

14:40

51º

13:47

14%

63º

1h:48m

Tunis

10:15

45º

12:38

56º

11:25

56%

54º

2h:23m

Damascus

11:42

60º

14:16

43º

13:00

83%

54º

2h:35m

Aleppo

11:47

57º

14:20

40º

13:05

90%

51º

2h:33m

Khartoum

12:11

74º

14:37

62º

13:24

40%

76º

2h:25m

Rabat

09:00

32º

10:56

52º

09:57

29%

43º

1h:56m

Nouakchott

08:18

18º

10:19

46º

09:16

44%

31º

2h:01m

Benghazi

11:14

54º

13:52

57º

12:33

91%

61º

2h:38m

Tripoli

11:08

49º

13:41

60º

12:23

71%

58º

2h:32m

Beirut

11:41

60º

14:16

43º

13:00

86%

55º

2h:35m

Amman

11:39

61º

14:14

44º

12:57

80%

56º

2h:35m

Jerusalem

11:38

62º

14:13

45º

12:57

80%

57º

2h:36m

Baghdad

12:58

58º

15:24

35º

14:13

65%

48º

2h:27m

Alexandria

11:27

61º

14:06

50º

12:47

91%

60º

2h:39m

Cairo

11:28

62º

14:06

50º

12:48

85%

61º

2h:39m

Djibouti

12:51

78º

14:23

57º

13:37

9%

67º

1h:33m

Alger

10:10

40º

12:22

56º

11:15

41%

50º

2h:12m

 

Please note that the eclipsed area of the Sun is the area of the Disk that is covered by the lunar disk, while eclipse magnitude is the portion of the blocked diameter

Partial Solar Eclipse Visible in: Africa (except south region), Europe, Middle East, Middle and West Asia (except middle and South of India)

 

For more information, kindly contact Physics Department:

Dr. Ali Mohammad Al-Shukri, Chairman, Physics Department

Phone #  860-2255,  Fax # 860-2293,  email: alshukri@kfupm.edu.sa

Website: faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/PHYS/alshukri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WARNING: People who do not take adequate safety measures could severely damage their eyes without realizing it and may lead to a  permanent damage to their sight or a total blindness.  Avoid using non-approved solar filter such as sunglasses (regular, tinted, or darken glasses), smoked glasses, or photographic negatives for viewing annular or partial solar eclipses since they may not be able to block all the sun's harmful infrared rays.  DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF FILTERS UNLESS YOU ARE CERTAIN THAT THEY ARE SAFE AND APPROVED for viewing the sun. Some commercial solar filters which come with cheap non-branded telescopes may not be save either!. Remember, your eyes are too precious to put in risk of losing them no matter how small or slight is the chance.  Any attempt by the children to watch the eclipse should be under supervision of their parents or a qualified adult. Please take care and watch your children.

 

 Please remember that Eclipses or any other celestial phenomena are not related to life, death, or destiny or fate of a person. A solar eclipse coincided with the day of our Prophet – PBUH- son's Ibrahim death and people believed that it happed because of his death, but our Prophet – PBUH- said: (What the meaning is) Sun and Moon are Signs of Allah and they will be eclipsed for the death of the life of any person, if you see them make Duaa (pray) to Allah and pray till it is over. It may be an indirect sign of how dangerous is to watch solar eclipses which of course happen at day time when every one is awake and Allah has the knowledge. Therefore, please do not forget to observe the Eclipse prayer during the time of the Wednesday 11 August 1999 Solar eclipse as directed to us by our Prophet -PBUH.

 

For more information, kindly contact Physics Department:  Dr. Ali Mohammad Al-Shukri, Chairman, Physics Department

Phone #  860-2255,  Fax # 860-2293,  email: alshukri@kfupm.edu.sa , Website: faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/PHYS/alshukri