An unusual total lunar eclipse occurred in Egypt and other Arab countries at 8.23 pm yesterday. The eclipse started at 9.22pm and lasted for 100 minutes and 12 seconds. This is considered a long duration for lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse has not taken this time for 2000 years. The total eclipse reached its climax at 10.13 pm. The moon completely disappeared from sight and the sky was completely dark. The moon usually goes dark red in other lunar eclipses. The lunar eclipse yesterday could be seen by the naked eye as the moon entered and left the earth's shadow. It took about three hours, 39 minutes and 17 seconds. The eclipse could not, however, be seen by the naked eye during the Penumbra, the phase when the moon hid behind the Earth's shadow for an hour and three minutes. In total, all the phases of the eclipse took five hours and 36 minutes. Five continents were able to see the total lunar eclipse including South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. The rest of the world could only partially see the lunar eclipse. North America couldn't see the eclipse at all because they cannot see the moon at horizon. Unlike solar eclipses, which require the use of special glasses, lunar eclipses do not harm the eyes. They don't harm the earth as well. Lunar eclipses happened when the earth blocks the light from the moon," said Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Fathy, professor at the department of the Solar Research Institute of the National Astronomical and Geophysical Research. It takes different phases starting with the partial eclipse, said Fathy. Cairo University organized a festival at the Faculty of Science for the students to watch this event. Many students attended the eclipse prayer. The American University in Cairo (AUC) organized a festival as well. They presented a show on the role of the sun and the moon roles in our life, along with other scientific films. Many people who are interested in this came to AUC to attend the festival, including Dr. Medhat Haroun, the academic director at AUC. Egyptian scientist Dr. Farouk el-Baz gave a speech through a video conference at AUC. He talked about his role at the Apollo program, humans landing on the moon and the role of space technology in development. Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments sent instructions to all the big mosques to hold the eclipse prayer. It was held in Fath Mosque and was attended by many Islamic leaders.
