Lunar Eclipse Today Will Be The Longest in 580 Years. Know When And How To Watch Chandra Grahan 2021 Live
The lunar eclipse that will be visible in some parts of the world today is the longest partial lunar eclipse since the 15th century.
New Delhi: The world can see today the longest lunar eclipse in hundreds of years. It will be longest partial lunar eclipse since the 15th century.
An "almost total" lunar eclipse was visible late evening on November 18, in some time zones. On Friday evening, the Moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth, and create a partial lunar eclipse so deep, that it can be called almost total, NASA said on its website.
The Moon will be so close to opposite the Sun on November 19, that it will pass through the southern part of the shadow of the Earth for a nearly total lunar eclipse, according to NASA.
What Is An ‘Almost Total’ Lunar Eclipse?
When the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in a way such that the Moon passes into Earth's shadow, a lunar eclipse occurs. When entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called umbra, a total lunar eclipse occurs.
An almost total lunar eclipse is one in which up to 99.1 per cent of the Moon's disk will be within Earth's umbra, according to NASA.
When And Where Will The Lunar Eclipse Be Visible?
The lunar eclipse will start at 12:48 IST, and end at 16:17 IST, according to timeanddate.com. The peak of the eclipse will be visible at around 2:33 pm IST. At the peak, about 97 per cent of the Moon will disappear into Earth's shadow, according to Earthsky.
This is because the Sun and the Moon will pass opposite sides of the planet.
The lunar eclipse will be visible from a few areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, PTI quoted Debiprosad Duari, Director of Research and Academic at MP Birla Planetarium, as saying.
He said the last fleeting moments of the partial eclipse could be seen just after moonrise, very close to the eastern horizon, according to PTI.
The peak of the eclipse will be visible in many parts of the world, including all of North America, large parts of South America, Polynesia, eastern Australia, and north-eastern Asia.
How To Watch The Eclipse?
People living in the northeast part of India can watch the eclipse without any special equipment. One can also watch the live stream on the YouTube channel of Lowell Observatory, or timeanddate.com.
People can also use the interactive maps on the timeandate.com website to visualise the eclipse.
Duration Of The Lunar Eclipse
The duration of the eclipse is 3 hours and 28 minutes, making it the longest lunar eclipse in the last 580 years.
The last time such a lengthy lunar eclipse took place was on February 18, 1440, and the next longest lunar eclipse will occur on February 8, 2669, according to timeanddate.com.
The next total lunar eclipse will occur on May 16, 2022.
ALSO READ | Chandra Grahan 2021: Mantras To Chant During The Last Lunar Eclipse Of The Year
What Else Can Be Seen During The Eclipse?
Since the Moon will move through the western part of the Taurus constellation during the eclipse, one can also see the Pleiades star cluster to the upper right, and the Hyades star cluster in the lower left, NASA stated.
The Moon will appear reddish brown as it slips into Earth's umbra. Rayleigh scattering, which is the responsible for the blue colour of the sky, and the red colour of sunsets, will make the Moon turn red during the lunar eclipse.
The more the amount of dust or number of clouds in Earth's atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear.
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