Jordan's sky is set to witness a giant, partially eclipsed moon

2024-09-12 2024-09-12T07:12:25Z

Arab Weather - Dr. Ammar Al-Sakaji, head of the Jordanian Astronomical Society, said that the skies of Jordan and the world will witness next Wednesday, September 18, 2024, a giant partial eclipse , as the partial eclipse phenomenon begins, according to Jordan time, at 3:41 am, with the giant moon entering the Earth's penumbra, where it loses its brilliance. Professional astronomers notice this with difficulty, and the moon continues to immerse itself in the Earth's penumbra until 5:12 am, when the partial eclipse begins until it reaches the maximum value of the eclipse at 5:45 am, where it shades 8.5% of the moon's surface, and the percentage of this eclipse is small. The moon is close to the horizon and at an altitude of 8 degrees towards the west, which may be difficult to observe or photograph due to atmospheric physics and astronomical observational standards. The partial eclipse ends at 6:15 am until the moon disappears while in the Earth's penumbra, where it sets below the horizon at 6:27 am and continues in the penumbra while below the horizon until 7:47 am.

Where can a partial lunar eclipse be seen?

The partial eclipse will be visible in many countries around the world, including a large part of Asia, Africa, North America, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic, and Antarctica.

The supermoon occurs on the same night, at 5:33 AM, when the full moon coincides in its orbit with perigee, which is the closest to Earth. It is sometimes called the perigee full moon, as it is 356 thousand kilometers away from Earth and is in the west and 9 degrees above the horizon. It is slightly larger than the full moon of last August.

The term supermoon does not mean that it is much larger than a regular full moon, as the disk of the full moon is 8% larger than a regular full moon on average and is difficult to notice with the naked eye, and its brightness is 15% greater than a regular full moon on average, and the difference in brightness may be noticed with the naked eye by an experienced astronomer .

We invite photography enthusiasts to document the images of the eclipsed giant moon, in beautiful images without exaggeration in preparing and adjusting the cameras and backgrounds so that the moon appears as if it is giant and very large, which is contrary to the actual reality. The giant moon is close to the horizon in a captivating red or orange color, especially at sunrise and sunset when it is close to the horizon (moon deception), and gives an iconic image in different backgrounds, especially mountainous, touristic, archaeological areas, cities, and above buildings, minarets, churches, and other landmarks .

September Full Moon (Harvest Moon)

The September Full Moon is called the Harvest Moon or Harvest Moon in Northern Hemisphere cultures (latitudes 50° and above) because it rises from sunset to sunrise, historically giving farmers extra moonlight to help them bring in the harvest, according to Anglo-Saxon cultures, especially when the full moon is close to the autumnal equinox at 3:43 p.m. on Sunday, September 22, 2024, allowing farmers in America and Europe to finish their crops before the fall frosts arrive. It is also called the Corn Moon, the Autumn Moon, the Fall Leaves Moon, the Mead Moon, the Barley Moon, and the Song Moon, and is also the second of four consecutive supermoons this year.

Saros Cycle

The methods of calculating lunar or solar eclipses depend on the Saros cycle, which is 223 synodic months and equals 18 years, or 10 or 11 or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours. This cycle was used by the Chaldeans. After each Saros cycle, the sun, moon, and earth return to the same position, meaning that after one Saros cycle, a new moon will occur at the same node of the moon’s orbit.

This partial lunar eclipse is ranked as the 118th lunar eclipse of 73 astronomical events and is ranked 52 out of 73 events in the 118th Saros cycle. The partial eclipse occurs 12 minutes after the full moon and 9.6 hours before the moon reaches perigee, and the moon is in the constellation Pisces.