UAE to witness lunar eclipse with naked eye on Sunday evening

Residents of the UAE will be able to see the lunar eclipse with the naked eye on Sunday evening from 8:15pm to 12:15am, lasting over 4 hours, according to Engineer Mohammed Shawkat Odah, Director of the International Astronomical Centre.

Odah explained that the International Astronomical Centre will livestream the total lunar eclipse visible in the region.

The eclipse will be fully visible across most of Asia and Australia, while parts of Africa and Europe will witness partial phases.

In the eastern Arab world, the moon will rise before the eclipse begins, while in the central Arab region, it will rise during the early stages of the eclipse.

In the western Arab world, the moon will rise during the final stages, Odah said.

He added that the centre will broadcast the eclipse live using a telescope from Al-Khattm Astronomical Observatory, with the livestream expected to run from 7:30pm to 11:50pm.

The partial eclipse will begin at 8:27pm, followed by the total eclipse at 9:31pm.

The eclipse will reach its peak at 10:12pm, with the total eclipse ending at 10:53pm. The partial eclipse will come to an end at 11:57pm, and the entire event will end at 12:55am, UAE time, according to Odah.

Odah noted that during a total lunar eclipse, the moon typically does not disappear completely due to sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere and refracting toward the moon. This gives the moon vibrant hues like yellow, orange, or red.

The moon’s colour during totality indicates the purity of the Earth’s atmosphere as higher pollution reduces refracted light, darkening the moon to deep red or brown.

In rare cases, the moon may vanish entirely, as happened during the 1992 eclipse due to the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines.