Under the patronage of Dr. Ahmed Akawy, President of the University, and the supervision of Dr. Khaled Bin Al-Walid, Dean of the Faculty of Science, South Valley University organized the sixth Astronomical Day for students to observe the phenomenon of a partial lunar eclipse. The event was held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, in the conference hall of the new Biological Building, attended by Dr. Abbas Mansour, former President of the University, Dr. Khaled Bin Al-Walid Abdel Fattah, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Dr. Jamal Abdullah, Vice Dean for Student Affairs, and Dr. Badri Nubi, faculty member in the Atmospheric Physics department.
The event began with an informative seminar prepared by Dr. Eman Fouad El-Sayed, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Coordinator of the Atmospheric Physics and Astronomy Program. She explained that this eclipse is a partial lunar eclipse, with approximately 3.5% of the moon’s surface covered by the Earth’s shadow. The timing of the eclipse coincides with the full moon of the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and its total duration—from the moment the moon enters the penumbral shadow until it exits the opposite side—is 4 hours and 6 minutes. The duration of the partial eclipse, from the moment the moon enters the umbral shadow until it exits, is 1 hour and 3 minutes.
On September 18, 2024, starting at 2:30 AM, the phenomenon was observed from the university gate, with monitoring taking place from 2:40 AM until the phenomenon ended at 6:47 AM. The observation was conducted by Mr. Ahmed Mustafa Al-Nagar, Teaching Assistant in Astronomy, along with students from the Atmospheric Physics and Astronomy Program (as a voluntary effort): Eman Arafa Rabea, Habiba Adel Ahmed, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed, Manar Khaled Mohamed, Nada Mohamed Ahmed Mubarak, Youssef Abdel-Nasser Al-Dawy, and Kerlus Raymond Kheir.
