Cairo: Egyptians will witness a total lunar eclipse on the evening of Sunday, 7 September, coinciding with the full moon of Rabi? al-Awwal 1447 AH, the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) has announced. At its peak, Earth's shadow will completely cloak the moon, with the umbra covering 136.2 percent of its disk, leaving the moon deeply immersed in darkness. The entire spectacle will last five hours and 27 minutes. The partial phases will span three hours and 29 minutes, while the total eclipse will be visible for one hour and 22 minutes.

According to State Information Service Egypt, in Cairo, the sequence begins with the penumbral phase at 4:28pm, followed by the partial eclipse at 5:35pm. Totality is expected to start at 6:44pm, reach its maximum at 7:11pm, and end at 7:37pm. The moon will then gradually emerge from Earth's shadow, with the partial phase ending at 8:46pm and the penumbral phase at 9:53pm. NRIAG said the entire eclipse will be visible across Egypt and Africa, and in much of the world where the moon is above the horizon - including Europe, Asia, Australia, western North America, eastern South America, and parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Arctic and Antarctica.

The institute stressed that lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye, unlike solar eclipses, which require protective glasses. It also noted their importance in astronomy and the Islamic calendar, as they always occur midway through the lunar month when the moon, Earth, and sun are in alignment.