Prepared by: Dr. Omar Fikry

As usual, we strive to highlight the most important astronomical phenomena and sights in our sky; we define and draw attention to them. During August, a partial lunar eclipse and a total solar eclipse will occur. The former eclipse, unlike the latter, will be visible for onlookers in Egypt.

Monday Night, 7 August 2017

 

The Dhū al-Qidah moon will reach its “full moon” phase on this night causing a partial lunar eclipse. As mentioned in the official chart on the NASA website, the lunar eclipse is going to begin at 5:50 pm, reach its peak stage between 7:22 and 9:18 pm, and end at 10:50 pm. Said timing will allow us to observe the moon as it reappears. The moon will not be remarkably noticeable and will not have the usual reddish color that arises during a lunar eclipse. To watch a video that further explains this phenomenon, you can visit the following link:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-august-7 

Friday and Saturday Nights, 11–12 August 2017

Both nights are the perfect timing for astronomy enthusiasts to observe the Perseus constellation meteor shower (Perseids meteor shower). As we have mentioned before, meteor showers occur when Earth passes through debris left over from the disintegration of comets. The comet that will cause the Perseids meteor shower on the aforementioned dates is the comet Swift–Tuttle.

Observers will be able to sight more than 60 meteors per hour with the naked eye. Fortunately, the moon will be small in size and will set earlier than usual, leaving us with a clear night sky for astronomical observation.
 

Monday Night, 21 August 2017

This day, which corresponds with 29 Dhū al-Qidah, will witness the birth of the new moon of the month of Dhū al-Hijjah 1438 at 8:30 pm (EET). The new moon will not be visible. Consequently, Dhū al-Qidah will end on Tuesday and Dhū al-Hijjah will begin on Wednesday 23 August 2017. This also means that the Day of Arafah will be on 31 August and Eid al-Adha will begin on Friday, 1 September 2017.
 

Monday, 21 August 2017

People on the other side of the globe will get the chance to witness a total solar eclipse on this day. The eclipse will not be visible to us because of the time difference. It is noteworthy that the last time Egypt witnessed a total solar eclipse was on 29 March 2006.
 

Source of images: The NASA Education website, compiled and Arabized by Stellarium (software).