Residents of the UAE will be able to watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye on Sunday evening from 8:15 pm to 12:15 am, lasting over four hours, said Engineer Mohammed Shawkat Odah, Director of the International Astronomical Centre.
Odah confirmed that the International Astronomical Centre will livestream the total lunar eclipse for viewers across the region.
The eclipse will be fully visible across most of Asia and Australia, while parts of Africa and Europe will see only partial phases.
In the eastern Arab world, the moon will rise before the eclipse begins, while in the central Arab region, it will appear during the early stages. In the western Arab region, the moon will rise during the final stages of the eclipse, Odah added.
The centre will broadcast the eclipse live through a telescope at the Al-Khattm Astronomical Observatory, with the livestream running from 7:30 pm to 11:50 pm.
The partial eclipse will start at 8:27 pm, followed by the total eclipse at 9:31 pm. The eclipse will reach its peak at 10:12 pm, with totality ending at 10:53 pm. The partial eclipse will conclude at 11:57 pm, and the full event will end at 12:55 am, UAE time.
Odah explained that during a total lunar eclipse, the moon does not completely disappear. Sunlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere and bends toward the moon, giving it shades of yellow, orange, or red.
The moon’s colour during totality reflects the clarity of Earth’s atmosphere, as higher pollution reduces refracted light, turning the moon dark red or brown. In rare instances, the moon may disappear entirely, as seen in the 1992 eclipse following the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines.
