Partial solar eclipse witnessed in Syria

Syria witnessed on Sunday a rare partial solar eclipse, with astronomy enthusiasts watching this event from 3:13 PM using special glasses provided by the Syrian Astronomical Society. Chairman of the Syrian Astronomical Society Mohammad al-Osiri said that this was a hybrid eclipse, beginning at 3:13 PM and lasting for around 1 hour and 25 minutes until 3:58 PM. He said that the obscuring of the sun in this eclipse ranged between 15% in the north and 25% in the south of Syria, with the rate reaching 23%. Al-Osiri said that astronomy enthusiasts watched the phenomenon using special glasses and telescopes provided by the Society, observing and documenting two sunspots, in addition to calculating the exact date of the first day of the new Hijri year accurately. The Society set up to locations for observing the phenomenon; one in al-Jalaa Stadium in Damascus and another on the seaside corniche in Tartous.