Skygazers in the Americas and some parts of western Africa and Europe are enjoying the penumbral lunar eclipse taking place overnight from Saturday to Sunday. However, for Oman, it was a triangle that attracted Astro enthusiasts.
Penumbral eclipses occur when the Moon passes through Earth’s penumbra the outer portion of its shadow, an important event was not visible from Oman.
The eclipse will begin when the moon contacts Earth's penumbral shadow at 03:07 GMT. At greatest eclipse at 04:30 GMT, only 35 per cent of the moon will fall within the Earth's southern penumbral shadow.
“On the night of July 4-5, there’s another astronomical event taking place that we all can see. This July full moon will shine near the sky’s dome to the very bright planet Jupiter, and also to the ringed planet Saturn,” explained Omar al Hosni, member of Oman Astronomical Society.
While we can see the full moon and the Jupiter, the third point of the triangle cannot be seen with the naked eye.
“You need a telescope to see Saturn’s rings. But you’ll get a kick out of seeing Jupiter and Saturn close together, When the full moon rises over the southeastern horizon it will form a neat triangle bright, white Jupiter and dimmer, yellow-tinted Saturn. The moon and planets will fit within the field of view of binoculars and will produce a lovely wide-field photograph when composed with interesting foreground scenery,” noted Al Hosni.
Throughout the night, the diurnal rotation of the sky will shift the moon to the planets' left, and the moon's orbital motion will carry it closer to Saturn than Jupiter.
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