Partial solar eclipse expected Friday

AMMAN — The Kingdom will witness the first partial solar eclipse of the year on Friday, Chief Islamic Justice Department Astronomer Imad Mujahed said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Sunday.

The eclipse will begin at 11:18am and end at 12: 39pm. 

In Amman, the moon will be covering 13 per cent of the sun by 11:59am, the highest percentage that will be seen in the capital, Mujahed said.

Irbid will be the best place to observe the eclipse since it will last for an hour and 25 minutes in the northern governorate, he noted, adding that at 11:59am, the moon will cover 14 per cent of the sun.

As for Aqaba, the moon’s shadow will cover 0.075 per cent of the sun, which is the lowest percentage in all of Jordan, and the port city’s residents will most probably be unable to see it, the statement said.

Mujahed warned the public against looking directly at the sun during the eclipse, to avoid eye burns or permanent blindness, urging them to use special glasses to watch it.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth’s view of the sun. But in 2003, the Kingdom witnessed a solar eclipse caused by Mercury moving across the sun.