The American University in Cairo (AUC) hosted some 250 people–including university and high school students, local residents and college professors–to watch the decade's first partial solar eclipse on Tuesday.
The eclipse was visible to varying degrees in several countries of the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Oman, Iraq and Lebanon.
Guests viewed the eclipse from 9:00 AM to12:00 PM along with several prominent scientific figures from AUC, including University President Lisa Anderson, AUC Academic Director Medhat Haroun, university adviser Amr Ezzat Salama, and physics professor Alaa Ibrahim.
At 10:30 AM Cairo time, more than half of the sun was obscured by the moon. In order to watch the eclipse safely, guests used special viewing equipment such as tainted glasses, pinhole cameras and a telescope used to monitor the wavelengths of solar emissions.
Anderson expressed thanks to AUC for hosting the event, stressing that the university's overriding aim was to support the quest for knowledge and the advancement of science.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
