Lunar eclipse 2021: A celestial event that hasn’t been seen since the 1440s

Lunar Eclipse of November 19: Today i.e. on November 19, there will be an ‘almost total’ lunar eclipse, when the Moon will slip into the shadow of the Earth. It will turn red.

Lunar Eclipse of November 19: Today i.e. on November 19, there will be an ‘almost total’ lunar eclipse, when the Moon will slip into the shadow of the Earth. It will turn red. It is also the last lunar eclipse of the year and the longest lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years. The lunar eclipse begins on November 19 at 1.02 am or around 11.32 am Indian Standard Time and lasts till 7.04 am or 5:34 pm.

According to NASA, “This is the longest partial lunar eclipse in a millennium, culminating in 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds.” The last lunar eclipse that was longer was on February 18, 1440, in about 3 hours, 28 minutes, 46 seconds. 

Sadly, lunar eclipse will not be seen in most of India. However, those living in the northeastern part of India will get to see. You can, however, watch the eclipse live stream on Lowell Observatory’s YouTube channel and timeanddate.com. India will experience a total lunar eclipse only on November 8, 2022, which is some time away. The eclipse will be visible in a small part of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and people of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand will also be able to see the last part of the eclipse. 

According to NASA, the best view will be around the peak of the eclipse at 4:03 a.m. EST or 2.30 p.m. India Standard Time. Considering that during the peak of the day in India, most of us will have to miss the eclipse. 

The US space agency says the eclipse is visible in North America, large parts of South America, Polynesia, eastern Australia and northeast Asia.

NASA is calling this a ‘near total lunar eclipse’ because about 99.1 percent of the Moon’s disk will be in the deepest part of Earth’s umbra, or Earth’s shadow. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon come into a line, but this time it is not a perfect alignment.

Just like in a total lunar eclipse, where the entire Moon is covered by Earth’s shadow and turns a bright red color, the same will happen this time around. So yes, in the countries where the eclipse will be visible, the moon will turn red. According to NASA, the peak of the eclipse occurs at 3.45 a.m. EST, or 2.15 a.m., when more than 95% of the Moon’s disk is in umbra. According to NASA, the peak of the eclipse occurs at 3.45 a.m. EST, or 2.15 a.m., when more than 95% of the Moon’s disk is in umbra. At this point it will appear red. The space agency also says that if one wants to see Red in all its glory, it may be easier to see with binoculars or binoculars.

NASA states that the reason for the red color of the Moon is Rayleigh scattering. While blue light has a shorter wavelength, red light has a longer wavelength and thus can travel more directly into the atmosphere. Since the Earth is blocking the Sun’s path towards the Moon, sunlight has to pass through our planet’s atmosphere to reach the satellite. Only red light passes through and thus the color of the moon becomes red.