India to witness first total lunar eclipse in 3 years on Sunday night

The moon will gradually be engulfed by the Earth’s shadow, taking on a copper-red colour, for one hour and 22 minutes, said astrophysicist Debiprosad Duari, the former director of MP Birla Planetarium.

“The moon looks reddish because of the atmospheric refraction of sunlight, and red light almost falling on the moon and blue light getting scattered,” explained Duari.

But it might not appear reddish from India.

“One has to note that from India the moon will be eclipsed around midnight, when it is high above the horizon, and hence the blood colour effect will be less compared to other places on the globe where the total eclipse will be observed near moonrise or vice versa,” said Duari.

“The redness of an eclipsed moon becomes prominent when the moon is near the horizon and the moonlight has to pass through a larger expanse of the atmosphere, thereby accentuating the red-orange colouration of the moon under the shadow of the Earth,” he said.

“The total eclipse of the moon will continue till 12.22am. The penumbral eclipse will start around 9pm in India, but at that time, the brightness of the moon will marginally diminish and the eclipse will not be discernible to the naked eye,” said Duari.

“By 9.57pm, the moon will be partially eclipsed, and around 11pm the eclipse will be total. The moon will be completely under the shadow of the Earth,” he said.

Duari said after 12.22am, the moon will re-enter the partial eclipse phase, which will gradually subside and ultimately the moon will be “blazing with its pearly white light” by 1.26am on September 8.

The lunar eclipse on September 7 will be visible from Asia, Africa, Australia and parts of Europe.

The next total lunar eclipse will occur on December 31, 2028.

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