Darkest lunar eclipse of the century on Jun 14
NEW DELHI: This week you can view the Darkest Eclipse of the Century. Past midnight on Tuesday and sometime into the wee hours of Wednesday, the earth will cross the path of the moon and the sun to cause a total lunar eclipse.
Lunar eclipse is when the earth’s shadow falls on the moon. This can only happen on a full moon night when the sun is on one side of the earth and the moon on the opposite side. If these three celestial bodies get aligned in straight line on a single plane, a lunar eclipse occurs.
The sunlight when blocked by the earth will not fall on a full moon, leading to to a lunar eclipse. What will make this particular eclipse appear more sinister and spooky is the intensity of shadow that will be cast on the moon.
Since the moon will pass through the central part of the earth’s shadow, it will appear darker than it usually does at other eclipses.
Scientists named the otherwise common celestial phenomenon as the Darkest Eclipse of the Century.
“Moreover, the duration of the eclipse, the time when the Moon passes through the Earth’s umbral shadow will last for about 100 minutes, is a pretty long interval given lunar eclipses in general. The last time such a lengthy total lunar eclipse took place was on July 16, 2000,” said MP Birla Planetarium director (research & academics) Debiprosad Duari said.
The total lunar eclipse, the first this year, will start from 12.52am. If clouds don’t play spoilsport, it will be a wonderful opportunity for people to view this total lunar eclipse as the moon will be near the zenith at the time. The total eclipse will continue till 2.32am, making it one of the longest total eclipse of the moon in the recent times. The eclipse will be best visible, almost near the zenith, from everywhere in India. Other than India, it can be viewed from the eastern half of Africa, West Asia, Central Asia and Western Australia.
Observers throughout Europe will miss the early stages of the eclipse because they occur before moonrise.
Eastern Asia, eastern Australia and New Zealand will miss the last stages of the eclipse because they occur after the moonset. At Kolkata, the moon will start getting under the Earth’s shadow around 11.52pm. The total eclipse will begin from 12.52am and will last until 2.32am. The partial eclipse will end around 3.52am in the early morning hours of June 16.
The next lunar eclipse, also to be visible from India will be a total one on December 10, 2011. But during the eclipse on December,
