Stargazers in Asia and Australia had the best seats for the year's first lunar eclipse.
The four-hour eclipse got under way late on Friday or early Saturday, depending on the viewer's location, as the Moon slipped into the fringes of Earth's shadow.
In what is known as a penumbral lunar eclipse, the full moon passed within the outer part of Earth’s shadow, causing the Moon to dim only slightly. Such an eclipse is not as dramatic as a partial lunar eclipse or a total lunar eclipse when the Moon, Earth and Sun are perfectly aligned.
The full moon in May is also known as the Flower Moon.
The eclipse was visible from beginning to end, weather permitting, as far west as Saudi Arabia and Africa’s western coast, as far east as Japan and New Zealand’s South Island, and from the South Pole to Siberia. Almost all of Europe also got in on some of the action.
The Virtual Telescope Project showed a livestream of the moon rising over the countryside in Tuscany, Italy.
“Even subtle astronomical events like this one make me excited and happy to share them,” astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, the project's founder, said in an email.
The next lunar eclipse in October will put on a better display.
Asia, Africa and Europe will be to see the partial lunar eclipse, when some but not all of the Moon passes through the Earth’s dark, central shadow, while the eastern portions of both Americas will get to see at least part of the show.
The next total lunar eclipse will not occur until 2025, with North America and the western half of South America in front-row seats.
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Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
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Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
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1.
2.
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4.
5.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
