Chandra Grahan 2020: Stay Tuned As Penumbral Lunar Eclipse To Occur Tonight

Since the penumbra is much fainter than the dark core of the Earth's shadow, the umbra, a penumbral eclipse of the Moon is often difficult to tell apart from a normal Full Moon.

A picture taken on January 10, 2020 shows the full moon rising behind Christmas street decorations during the penumbral lunar eclipse in Skopje. (Photo by Robert ATANASOVSKI / AFP)

Lunar Eclipse 2020: For those tracking the celestial movements, an event of Lunar Eclipse or Chandra Grahan can be witnessed on Friday night which is scheduled to occur between June 5 and 6. The previous lunar eclipse in 2020 was witnessed in January whereas the next one is expected to be seen tonight, according to timeanddate.com, a global website tracking time and time zones. The first lunar eclipse in Jaunuary was a penumbral and the one tonight is expected to be a similar eclipse, too. ALSO READ: Lunar Eclipse 2020: Date, Time, How To Watch And All That You Need To Know What is a penumbral lunar eclipse? The penumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the Moon moves through the faint outer part of the Earth’s shadow. It is being said the most phases will see the moon turn a shade darker. For this to happen Sun, Earth, and the Moon have to be imperfectly aligned and the Earth obstructs the Sunlight from directly reaching the Moon with the outer part of its shadow. The part which is formed is called the penumbra, and therefore it's termed as penumbral lunar eclipse. The penumbra is much fainter than the dark core of the Earth’s shadow, hence making it tough to distinguish from the normal Full Moon, according to timeanddate.com. There are three types of lunar eclipses based on the alignment of the three celestial bodies-total lunar eclipse, partial lunar eclipse, and penumbral lunar eclipse. Can you witness the eclipse? Lunar eclipses can be typically witnessed from any part of the world on the night side of the Earth provided the sky remains clear. In fact, it is clearly visible from some places, while in certain regions the Moon will rise or set during the eclipse. The event can be witnessed in larger Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South/East South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica. Also Watch: Lunar Eclipse tonight at 11.15: Debate over Astrology Vs Science What is the expected time? The lunar eclipse is expected to start at 11:15 pm on June 5 as per the Indian Standard Timing (IST) and reach the maximum eclipse at 12:54 am on June 6 when the faint shadow completely covers the Moon. The penumbral eclipse will end at 2:34 am on June 6, 2020. Also Watch: One month and three eclipses: Know all about it