The southernmost regions of Saudi Arabia will witness tomorrow, Sunday, June 21, a annular solar eclipse, coinciding with an annual astronomical phenomenon, which is the perpendicular to the full sun over the orbit of cancer, marking the beginning of the summer in the northern hemisphere. It is noteworthy that the orbit of cancer passes almost over the central regions of Saudi Arabia.

Professor of Geography at the Qaseem University, Dr. Abdullah Al-Misnad, stated that the annular eclipse will be seen in the far south of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Sultanate of Oman. On the continent of Africa, an annular eclipse will be seen in five countries: Congo, Central Africa, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. As for Asia, it will be seen by residents of 4 countries: Pakistan, India, China and Taiwan, then the phenomenon will end in the Pacific.

In the path of the annular eclipse line, the Moon’s Moon will block 99% of the Sun’s disk, and the remaining 1% of the Sun will appear as a flaming, flamboyant luminous ring encircling the right black moon. The annular eclipse is the third type of eclipse, and it is the most impressive and intimidating.

Al-Musnad added: "The annular eclipse will only be seen in a very narrow spatial band, which passes from Central Africa through southern Arabia, then penetrates 4 Asian countries. Its width is estimated at passing through the Empty Quarter by only 40 km. The annular eclipse period will not exceed The sky of Saudi Arabia is only 59 seconds. As for the partial eclipse at the level of the Saudi sky, its duration will not be less than 133 minutes in the northwest, and about 179 minutes in the southeast. For this reason, a partial eclipse will be seen in all Arab countries, most of Africa, Asia, southern Europe and northern Australia. .

The annular eclipse will be seen over an area of ​​590 km over the deserts of the Rub al-Khali in the south of Saudi Arabia, and this includes the Kharkhir Governorate and the center of Arda. In Al-Kharkhir Province, the partial eclipse will start at 07:02 am and end at 09:53. In the middle of this period, the annular eclipse will take place which will last only about 33 seconds. Al-Khakhir is the only governorate in Saudi Arabia that the moon’s shadow center will pass from above, and Sana'a is the only capital in the world over which this center will pass.

The beginning and end of the annular eclipse is the
first site where the partial eclipse begins at 6:46 am in Africa, as well as the first location where the annular eclipse begins at 07:47.

As for the peak of the eclipse, you will see at 09:40 am in northern India.

The last site where the annular eclipse ends at 11:32 am is in the western Pacific Ocean. The last site where the partial eclipse ends at 12:34 pm is in the Western Pacific and northern Australia.

It should be noted that the movement of the moon’s shadow on Earth is from the west to the east, due to the moon’s rotation around the earth. Therefore, the eclipse will start from Africa and end in the western Pacific.

How will the eclipse start?
Because the Moon's body is moving very slowly from west to east, the eclipse will start from the upper right part of the sun disk, and it will form in the form of a large crescent, especially in the far south of Saudi Arabia, then the solar crescent will gradually grow smaller until it becomes a very slender crescent.

Then, after the eclipse becomes centered, an inverted crescent begins to form that we read downward, and it will grow slowly until the eclipse is cleared.

The best view of the dazzling astronomical phenomenon in the Kingdom will be in the southern borders of Saudi Arabia. The scene is more surprising whenever we head to the south of Saudi Arabia or in Yemen and central Amman.

The phenomenon of an eclipse cannot come alone, but rather the lunar eclipse comes about two weeks before or after the eclipse. Accordingly, the next annular eclipse was preceded by an invisible lunar eclipse, called the "false eclipse" (meaning the moon will enter the region of the earth’s shadow and not the shadow itself, which is not remarkable), on 13 Shawwal 1441 AH. June 5.

The last annular eclipse of the sun in Saudi Arabia The
last annular eclipse of the sun was seen in Saudi Arabia on December 26, 2019. The difference between it and the next annular eclipse was only 178 days, while the difference between the last annular eclipse which was 98 years before it occurred in 1922 AD.

Next annular solar eclipse
At the level of Saudi Arabia, the next annular eclipse (21 June 2020) will be followed by another annular eclipse on November 25, 2049, that is, after 29 years.

The total eclipse
states that the last total eclipse seen in Saudi Arabia was 68 solar years ago, specifically on 29 Jumada I 1371 AH. (February 25, 1952 A.D.). A similar phenomenon occurred before it on August 30, 1905 AD, that is, 115 years ago.

It is expected that the Saudis will witness a rare total solar eclipse in broad daylight in 2027 AD, followed by another total solar eclipse in 2034 AD, and the interval between them is only six years. It is noted that this eclipse will not be seen in all regions of Saudi Arabia, but rather it is limited in a narrow geographical strip of Saudi territory.

He states that, when the total eclipse is seen in a particular city, it will not be seen again in the same city until after an average of 375 years have passed.

The danger of witnessing an eclipse with the naked eye
Looking at the sun is very dangerous to the retina, whether the sun is a panoramic or not. So I call on the Musnad to everyone to avoid looking at the sun directly or even using sunglasses or burning films and the like, due to the danger of visible and direct sunlight on the eye, which may cause temporary blindness, or cause permanent eye damage. It is reported that there are special glasses to follow the eclipse called Eclipsers Glasses.

Will a prayer be held for Eclipse?
Prayer is held for Eclipse, but at different times. The eclipse prayer is the only prayer in Sharia that takes place simultaneously in the night hemisphere, while the eclipse prayer is timing multiple, because the shadow of the moon falling on Earth is limited in size, and it moves from west to east at the speed of the moon's rotation around the sun. Therefore, viewing the eclipse varies from one geographical position to another, and in general may call for the Eclipse prayer 15 minutes after its occurrence.

It is noteworthy that in 2020 the lunar eclipse prayer will not take place, while the one-time annular eclipse prayer will take place on June 21, 2020.