01 February 2018
On Wednesday, 31 January 2018 CE/14 Jumada Al-Awwal 1439, a total lunar eclipse will occur, but will not be visible in the skies of Egypt. On that day, the moon will rise at the final stages of the eclipse. For full information about the total lunar eclipse, please check NASA’s website at the following link:
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf
The total lunar eclipse on 31 January will be followed by a partial solar eclipse on Thursday, 15 February 2018. It will be visible in Australia and South America, but will not be visible in Egypt or any other Arab country. This partial solar eclipse proves the validity of the astronomical calculations of the crescent of the Hijri month Jumada al-Thani. For full information about the partial solar eclipse and the countries that can detect it, please check NASA’s website at the following link:
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2018Feb15P.GIF
Planetary observers may not enjoy because the planets will rise late, where the cold is intense. Mars and Jupiter will rise after 2:00 am, and Saturn will rise just before dawn. However, observers can enjoy star constellations and shining winter constellations such as Orion and Taurus after sunset till 11:00 pm. Egyptians can also observe, without a telescope, the brightest star Sirius—mentioned in the Holy Quran—because it is visible with the naked eye at the South.