Abdulfattah Olajide
20 February 2008
A total lunar eclipse will occur in many parts of the world today and just before sunrise tomorrow, astronormers have said.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow (the moon gets behind the earth or the sun, earth, and then the moon). This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.
The lunar eclipse will be visible in North and South America today while Europe, Africa and a part of the western Asia will also be able to see the eclipse tomorrow, a report in the Live Science stated. Unlike a solar eclipse, each stage of a lunar eclipse is visible to everyone on the moon-facing side of the earth at once.
The eclipse will be readily visible from start-to-finish across many continents, weather permitting.
In Nigeria, the eclipse will be visible by the time the Sun would have risen for all locations in the country, a Kaduna based astronomer, Alhaji Hafiz S. Wali said in a statement he released yesterday.
During a lunar eclipse Muslims are expected to offer a supererogatory prayer called Salatu Khusuf as was the case in the time of Prophet Muhammed (saw).
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
