The president of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, Engineer Majed Abu Zahra, explained that the phenomenon of alignment “is one of the scientific methods to confirm the accuracy of calculations of movements, including the moon, which makes determining its position very precise. This phenomenon can be used to determine the direction of the Qibla in a simple way from several regions around the world.” Abu Zahra added: “The world witnessed a total lunar eclipse, known as a ‘blood moon,’ last Sunday. This astronomical phenomenon turns the moon into a dark red color.” Astrophysicist Ryan Milligan from the University of Belfast explained that this occurs due to the reflection and scattering of sunlight through Earth’s atmosphere, where blue wavelengths are scattered more easily, while red wavelengths pass through, giving the moon its distinctive blood-red color.
This is the second total eclipse this year after the one in March 2025, paving the way for a total solar eclipse expected on August 12, 2026. This will be the first total solar eclipse in Europe since 2006, being fully visible in Spain and Iceland, and partially in other countries.
