The World witnesses a rare solar eclipse on
Sunday, 3rd of November, 2013
In the Arab countries, it would be seen as a partial eclipse
Sunday, 3rd of November, 2013
In the Arab countries, it would be seen as a partial eclipse
Mohammad Shawkat Odeh
President of Islamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP)
Translated by ICOP Member Omar Bouderdaben
Insha Allah (God willing), on Sunday, November 3rd, the World will witness, a rare solar eclipse called “hybrid” eclipse. From our Arab region, we will see this eclipse as a partial eclipse; and the sun will set eclipsed in the Eastern region of the Arab world like Gulf countries, Iraq and most of AL-Sham (Syria and neighboring countries), while the eclipse would start and finish before the sun set in the rest of the Arab countries.
The solar eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth in one line which covers the Sun either totally, and hence “total solar eclipse” or partially which gives us a “partial solar eclipse”. A “Hybrid” Solar Eclipse means that some regions will see “Total Solar Eclipse”, others will see “Partial Solar Eclipse”, a third region might see “an Annular Solar Eclipse”, and yet a fourth region would not see anything. The last such Hybrid Solar Eclipse happened the 8th of April 2005 and the next, insha Allah (God willing), will occur April 20th 2023.
The regions that would witness an annular or total solar eclipse this time is only across a narrow path of few Kilometers starting North of the Atlantic Ocean passing through Central Africa and ends at the Western borders of Somalia. The solar eclipse would start as an annular solar eclipse and would stay as such for 15 seconds, then quickly would turn into a total solar eclipse to end its journey. The countries that would witness the total solar eclipse would be Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The longest time for this total solar eclipse would be in a region 330 kilometers South-East of Liberia in the Atlantic Ocean, and it is one minute and 39 seconds.
The regions that would witness a partial solar eclipse are North-East of South America, Atlantic Ocean, Africa, Southern Europe and Western Asia.
The moon would appear as big as the sun despite it being one over four hundred (1/400) the size of the sun. This is because the sun is four hundred times farther than the moon. If the moon’s diameter was 225 kilometers smaller, we would never see a total solar eclipse, and if the moon were closer to us half its present distance, we would see a total solar eclipse each month and one person out of 25000 would have the possibility of seen such a total solar eclipse. The occurrence of a total solar eclipse in the same location is once every 360 to 400 years.
To be able to see the solar eclipse, two conditions must be met: The sun has to be above the horizon at the time of the eclipse and our location should be appropriate. The sun could be rising while eclipsed in one region and at the same time rising and not eclipsed at all in another region. This implies that the beginning and the end of the eclipse and the percentage of sun eclipsed varies from one region to another.
The solar eclipse is of four types:
1- Total Solar Eclipse: The sun is totally hidden behind the moon. This is 28% of the all solar eclipses. In this condition, only some regions would see the total solar eclipse; some would only see a partial eclipse, and yet other would see neither.
2- Partial Solar Eclipse: The sun is partially hidden behind the moon. This is 35% of all solar eclipses. In this condition, all regions that are able to see the eclipse would see only a partial solar eclipse, but the rest of the world would not see anything.
3- Annular Solar Eclipse: This is because the distance of the moon/sun to Earth is not constant and is changing. Sometimes it would appear that the diameter of the moon is smaller than of the sun, hence the moon would not be able to cover all the sun, and it would appear that there is a ring around the moon and hence the name “annular”. This is 32% of all solar eclipses. In this situation, some regions would see annular solar eclipse, other would see partial solar eclipse, and yet another would not see anything.
4- Finally Hybrid Solar Eclipse: This is a very rare instances and it is only 5% of all solar eclipses. In this situation, some regions, would see a total solar eclipse, others, would see annular solar eclipse, others would see a partial solar eclipse and the rest would not see anything. It is called hybrid solar eclipse because in some regions a total solar eclipse is seen, and in other regions an annular solar eclipse is seen.
We would like to strongly warn everyone not to look at the eclipse directly, even wearing sunglasses. This is harmful to the eyes and may cause permanent blindness. This warning is valid during the eclipse and at other occasion of non-eclipse. This is not, as some may think, because of some special sun rays during the eclipse, but it is because the strong attraction to look at the sun directly without any protection, thinking it is not harmful which is very wrong. Our eye ball is similar to a magnifier that would focus the sun rays towards a piece of paper and burn it. The only difference is that the piece of paper in this case is actually our eye. The greater danger is there are no precursors to pain that would make us look away and we would not feel the pain until it is too late.
We would also like to mention that some materials used to look at the eclipse are not as safe as it is believed to be. The sun rays may seem harmless, but this does not mean you can look at the sun safely through these materials. There are infrared and ultraviolet in the sun rays that may harm you. Any safe material has to contain some Aluminum, Chrome or Silver material to prevent the infrared rays from reaching the eye. Amongst the materials that are not safe are: X-ray material, tinted glass, sunglasses, computer and laser CD. And from the safe materials for observing the eclipses are special sun glasses made for this specific occasion and are usually provided by organizations involved in observing the eclipses or using glasses used by welders with the number 12 or 14.
It is customary that some astronomers point to the conjunction of the moon (birth of the crescent moon) as an established fixed time from one region to another. This is not accurate. Conjunction of the moon differs with different locations. The conjunction time that is usually alluded to by the astronomers is called the “central conjunction”; meaning the time at which the conjunction happens at some central location on Earth. But we live in different locations and not at this central location. What interests us and is important to us is the time with respect to our location. For each location, there is a fixed time called local conjunction time. The difference between the local conjunction time and the central conjunction could be as long as two hours. We have showed, many times before the importance and the benefit that the astronomers and those who prepare the calendars to use the local conjunction time rather than the central conjunction time. This is because the usage of central conjunction time for a specific location is not correct! As an example, The Um_Al_Qurah calendar starts based on the local conjunction in Makah, before the sun set and if the moon set after the local sun set, while, they actually depend on the central moon conjunction. So it is possible that the month starts for the Um_Al_Qurah calendar because of the central moon conjunction already happened while in reality, the local moon conjunction happens after the sun set. In addition, the adoption of central moon conjunction could be confusing to people and even put doubt in people’s mind about the accuracy of the astronomers in determining the right time of the moon conjunction; while the astronomers are always trying to stress that the solar eclipse is just a mirror reflection of the conjunction and it is an event seen by people to confirm the accuracy of their calculations. But let’s take a look at the moon conjunction of the next month Muharram:
The moon conjunction (birth of the moon) would be on Sunday (November 3rd) at 3:50pm Noble Makah local time. On that day the Makkans would witness a partial solar eclipse. Normally, the middle of the partial solar eclipse would be the time of the moon conjunction; otherwise, it would indicate an error in the astronomical calculation. But, referring back the astronomical calculation, we find that the solar eclipse in Noble Makah would start, insha Allah (God willing), at 4:14pm and its middle would be at 5:15pm and the sun would set, eclipsed, at 5:42pm. Note that the solar eclipse started after the moon conjunction by 24 minutes and it middle after 85 minutes. It certainly looks like there is a discrepancy in these calculations. However, in reality there is no discrepancy! But this is due to the adoption of the central conjunction rather than the local conjunction. If we use the timing of the local moon conjunction (the birth of the moon) of the Noble Makah, we would find that the moon conjunction is at 5:09pm, very close to the middle of the eclipse. Actually there is a scientific explanation for the 6 minute difference, but this is not the place and the space would not permit for going into that. The above shows the importance of the adoption of local conjunction and this eclipse is a very good proof for that.
Below are the beginning and the end of the solar eclipse and the percentage of the eclipsed sun in some Arab capitals:
The following is a picture of the solar eclipse as it would be seen in some Arab capitals:President of Islamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP)
Translated by ICOP Member Omar Bouderdaben
Insha Allah (God willing), on Sunday, November 3rd, the World will witness, a rare solar eclipse called “hybrid” eclipse. From our Arab region, we will see this eclipse as a partial eclipse; and the sun will set eclipsed in the Eastern region of the Arab world like Gulf countries, Iraq and most of AL-Sham (Syria and neighboring countries), while the eclipse would start and finish before the sun set in the rest of the Arab countries.
The solar eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth in one line which covers the Sun either totally, and hence “total solar eclipse” or partially which gives us a “partial solar eclipse”. A “Hybrid” Solar Eclipse means that some regions will see “Total Solar Eclipse”, others will see “Partial Solar Eclipse”, a third region might see “an Annular Solar Eclipse”, and yet a fourth region would not see anything. The last such Hybrid Solar Eclipse happened the 8th of April 2005 and the next, insha Allah (God willing), will occur April 20th 2023.
The regions that would witness an annular or total solar eclipse this time is only across a narrow path of few Kilometers starting North of the Atlantic Ocean passing through Central Africa and ends at the Western borders of Somalia. The solar eclipse would start as an annular solar eclipse and would stay as such for 15 seconds, then quickly would turn into a total solar eclipse to end its journey. The countries that would witness the total solar eclipse would be Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The longest time for this total solar eclipse would be in a region 330 kilometers South-East of Liberia in the Atlantic Ocean, and it is one minute and 39 seconds.
The regions that would witness a partial solar eclipse are North-East of South America, Atlantic Ocean, Africa, Southern Europe and Western Asia.
The moon would appear as big as the sun despite it being one over four hundred (1/400) the size of the sun. This is because the sun is four hundred times farther than the moon. If the moon’s diameter was 225 kilometers smaller, we would never see a total solar eclipse, and if the moon were closer to us half its present distance, we would see a total solar eclipse each month and one person out of 25000 would have the possibility of seen such a total solar eclipse. The occurrence of a total solar eclipse in the same location is once every 360 to 400 years.
To be able to see the solar eclipse, two conditions must be met: The sun has to be above the horizon at the time of the eclipse and our location should be appropriate. The sun could be rising while eclipsed in one region and at the same time rising and not eclipsed at all in another region. This implies that the beginning and the end of the eclipse and the percentage of sun eclipsed varies from one region to another.
The solar eclipse is of four types:
1- Total Solar Eclipse: The sun is totally hidden behind the moon. This is 28% of the all solar eclipses. In this condition, only some regions would see the total solar eclipse; some would only see a partial eclipse, and yet other would see neither.
2- Partial Solar Eclipse: The sun is partially hidden behind the moon. This is 35% of all solar eclipses. In this condition, all regions that are able to see the eclipse would see only a partial solar eclipse, but the rest of the world would not see anything.
3- Annular Solar Eclipse: This is because the distance of the moon/sun to Earth is not constant and is changing. Sometimes it would appear that the diameter of the moon is smaller than of the sun, hence the moon would not be able to cover all the sun, and it would appear that there is a ring around the moon and hence the name “annular”. This is 32% of all solar eclipses. In this situation, some regions would see annular solar eclipse, other would see partial solar eclipse, and yet another would not see anything.
4- Finally Hybrid Solar Eclipse: This is a very rare instances and it is only 5% of all solar eclipses. In this situation, some regions, would see a total solar eclipse, others, would see annular solar eclipse, others would see a partial solar eclipse and the rest would not see anything. It is called hybrid solar eclipse because in some regions a total solar eclipse is seen, and in other regions an annular solar eclipse is seen.
We would like to strongly warn everyone not to look at the eclipse directly, even wearing sunglasses. This is harmful to the eyes and may cause permanent blindness. This warning is valid during the eclipse and at other occasion of non-eclipse. This is not, as some may think, because of some special sun rays during the eclipse, but it is because the strong attraction to look at the sun directly without any protection, thinking it is not harmful which is very wrong. Our eye ball is similar to a magnifier that would focus the sun rays towards a piece of paper and burn it. The only difference is that the piece of paper in this case is actually our eye. The greater danger is there are no precursors to pain that would make us look away and we would not feel the pain until it is too late.
We would also like to mention that some materials used to look at the eclipse are not as safe as it is believed to be. The sun rays may seem harmless, but this does not mean you can look at the sun safely through these materials. There are infrared and ultraviolet in the sun rays that may harm you. Any safe material has to contain some Aluminum, Chrome or Silver material to prevent the infrared rays from reaching the eye. Amongst the materials that are not safe are: X-ray material, tinted glass, sunglasses, computer and laser CD. And from the safe materials for observing the eclipses are special sun glasses made for this specific occasion and are usually provided by organizations involved in observing the eclipses or using glasses used by welders with the number 12 or 14.
It is customary that some astronomers point to the conjunction of the moon (birth of the crescent moon) as an established fixed time from one region to another. This is not accurate. Conjunction of the moon differs with different locations. The conjunction time that is usually alluded to by the astronomers is called the “central conjunction”; meaning the time at which the conjunction happens at some central location on Earth. But we live in different locations and not at this central location. What interests us and is important to us is the time with respect to our location. For each location, there is a fixed time called local conjunction time. The difference between the local conjunction time and the central conjunction could be as long as two hours. We have showed, many times before the importance and the benefit that the astronomers and those who prepare the calendars to use the local conjunction time rather than the central conjunction time. This is because the usage of central conjunction time for a specific location is not correct! As an example, The Um_Al_Qurah calendar starts based on the local conjunction in Makah, before the sun set and if the moon set after the local sun set, while, they actually depend on the central moon conjunction. So it is possible that the month starts for the Um_Al_Qurah calendar because of the central moon conjunction already happened while in reality, the local moon conjunction happens after the sun set. In addition, the adoption of central moon conjunction could be confusing to people and even put doubt in people’s mind about the accuracy of the astronomers in determining the right time of the moon conjunction; while the astronomers are always trying to stress that the solar eclipse is just a mirror reflection of the conjunction and it is an event seen by people to confirm the accuracy of their calculations. But let’s take a look at the moon conjunction of the next month Muharram:
The moon conjunction (birth of the moon) would be on Sunday (November 3rd) at 3:50pm Noble Makah local time. On that day the Makkans would witness a partial solar eclipse. Normally, the middle of the partial solar eclipse would be the time of the moon conjunction; otherwise, it would indicate an error in the astronomical calculation. But, referring back the astronomical calculation, we find that the solar eclipse in Noble Makah would start, insha Allah (God willing), at 4:14pm and its middle would be at 5:15pm and the sun would set, eclipsed, at 5:42pm. Note that the solar eclipse started after the moon conjunction by 24 minutes and it middle after 85 minutes. It certainly looks like there is a discrepancy in these calculations. However, in reality there is no discrepancy! But this is due to the adoption of the central conjunction rather than the local conjunction. If we use the timing of the local moon conjunction (the birth of the moon) of the Noble Makah, we would find that the moon conjunction is at 5:09pm, very close to the middle of the eclipse. Actually there is a scientific explanation for the 6 minute difference, but this is not the place and the space would not permit for going into that. The above shows the importance of the adoption of local conjunction and this eclipse is a very good proof for that.
Below are the beginning and the end of the solar eclipse and the percentage of the eclipsed sun in some Arab capitals:
