Very soon, there's going to be another lunar eclipse to witness. But this time, lunar eclipse fans here in India are going to get a good look at the partial eclipse of the Moon.
So if you've got binoculars, or better yet a telescope, keep them at hand. Here's how you can watch the lunar eclipse.
Images courtesy: NASA
The eclipse will be visible over many parts of the world over the next two days. In India, the eclipse will start just after midnight tomorrow night -- July 16.?
During a lunar eclipse, the Moon is passing into the shadow of the Earth, cast by the Sun on the other side. When this happens, it first passes into the penumbra, or the outer (lighter) shadow first. It's only after that the Moon passes through the Umbra, and then back out of both in reverse order.
On July 16, the moon is scheduled to rise just after 7 pm in the eastern sky and it will set just before 6 am on the next day -- during which period the lunar eclipse is set to take place. The moon will be at 100% illumination before the lunar eclipse begins.
In India, the penumbral lunar eclipse will begin at 12:11 am on July 17, with the umbral lunar eclipse starting at 1:31 am. The Moon will then pass out of the umbra at 4:29 am, and out of the penumbra at 5:49 am. The entire lunar eclipse will be an event lasting about 5 hours and 34 minutes.
A year of eclipses - NASA
This will unfortunately be the last lunar eclipse of the year, so you're going to have a long wait in case you miss this one. The next eclipse is predicted for January 10, 2020, with another three later in the year.
The next total lunar eclipse however (when the Moon passes completely into the umbral shadow) will only happen on May 26, 2021.