The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) says Nigeria will join other countries of the world to experience a total lunar eclipse on Monday.

Felix Alle, head, media and public communications of the agency, said this in a statement on Friday.

A lunar eclipse is a celestial incident where the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth’s shadow. It occurs only when the sun, and the moon are exactly aligned with the earth between the two.

“There will be a lunar eclipse over Nigeria on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019,” the statement read.

“The eclipse, expected to be total, will begin in the evening of Sunday and end on Monday. The eclipse will start across Nigeria in the early hours of Monday at approximately 3:36 am to reach its maximum
at 6:12am and end at about 6:43am.

“The total duration of the occurrence over Nigeria will be three hours and 15 minutes.”

Alle said the lunar eclipse would, by 4.33am, become a partial eclipse, where the moon would start getting red.

He added that “at exactly 5.41am, a maximum eclipse of the moon which may be visible to human sight will be
witnessed, while the moon eclipse is expected to end at 6.43am”.

He said this year’s eclipse would be the last to be experienced until 2021.