Pune, December 07: Come December 10 and more than half the world will have the opportunity to watch the second total lunar eclipse of 2011. In a press statement issued on Monday, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in-charge, public outreach programme, Arvind Paranjpye said the eclipse would not be as dark as the one that took place on June 15.
Paranjpye said, “The crisp winter night in India offers a very good chance across the subcontinent for observing this event. The entire event will last close to five hours.” According to him, this was the last chance for Indians to observe the total lunar eclipse for some time to come. The next total lunar eclipse is slated for August 7, 2017.
Paranjpye said the Moon would be partially eclipsed by the Earth at 5 pm, “Nothing much would be noticeable to untrained eyes for the next 30 to 40 minutes. After that, one might notice gradual change in the brightness of the lunar disk. By 6.16 pm, the Moon would be in total eclipse of the Earth’s shadow. The dark shadow of the Earth would progress on the lunar disk, covering crater by crater. This progress of the shadow of the Earth will be quite noticeable to naked eyes,” Paranjpye said.
The statement added that in an hour-and-quarter, the Moon would be totally in the shadow of the Earth. “At this time the colour of the lunar disk will be red with its many hues – crimson and brick red. The time of the maximum eclipse is 8.27.16 pm. At this time the Moon will be very dark. The sky will be like what we have during the new moon day (or Amavasya). One can see lots of faint stars.
The Moon will be in total eclipse till 9.48 pm. At 10 pm, the shadow play will be over and bright full moon will illuminate the earth,” the statement said.
–Agencies