Hyderabad: The longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years, will occur on November 19 (tomorrow) and will be visible in parts of the country between 12:48 pm to 4:17 pm.
The eclipse will last for a period of three hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds and will be visible in the regions of western Africa, western Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, and some neighbouring islands), the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific. In India, the eclipse will be visible only in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh where the moon rises earlier than the rest of the country.
“During the eclipse, the moon will be the farthest away from the earth and will reach the farthest point in its orbit (Apogee), where it takes longer to pass through Earth’s shadow making it the longest partial lunar eclipse,” said founder-director of the Planetary Society, India, Raghunandan Kumar.
The next lunar eclipse visible from India will occur on November 8 2022 and will be a total eclipse of the moon. The last lunar eclipse visible from a few places in the country occurred on 26 May 2021. Whereas, a total lunar eclipse visible to the whole country last occurred on 31 January 2018.
“The next lengthiest “partial” lunar eclipse will only occur 648 years from now, in the year 2669,” said a press release from the Planetary Society.