New Delhi: A three-hour-long partial lunar eclipse will be taking place in the wee hours of Wednesday, when the Earth will move between the Sun and the Moon. The eclipse which will begin at around 1:31 am on Wednesday will end at around 4:29  am As per experts, the greatest partial eclipse when the Moon will look the darkest will be around 3 am.

What is partial lunar eclipse:

It is a celestial phenomenon, which takes place only at full Moon night, when it, the Sun and the Earth are in a perfect straight line. As the Sun's rays fall on the Earth, its shadow falls on to a patch of space. When the Moon enters the patch of shadow there is lunar eclipse.

The patch of shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts - one nestled inside the other.

The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where the Earth shadow is partial and blocks some, but not all of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

When only a part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial lunar eclipse is seen.

If the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs, he said.

Where will it be visible:

The phenomenon will be visible entirely from all parts of the country, and also in parts of South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Religious implication: During Sutaka (the period of abstention observed by Hindus), the doors of the Char Dham (set of four pilgrimage sites in India) will remain closed. In Varanasi also, the routine Ganga aarti will take place in the noon time, instead of evening.

How to observe partial lunar eclipse: If interested in observing the changes in the Moon's features , one can use binoculars which will enhance the experience.