ISLAMABAD – People across the world will witness a Lunar eclipse today asthe Moon hides behind the Earth’s shadow. It will be among the longest onesin recent times. The lunar eclipse occurs when Moon, Earth, and the Sun areperfectly aligned and the Moon passes behind the earth. This is the secondlunar eclipse this year and it will be the longest one of the 21st century.
The natural satellite will appear rusty red that is why it is being calledthe Blood Moon. The eclipse will last for one hour and 43 minutes.
The long duration of the eclipse means that we will see a smaller versionof the moon. This is because the Moon will follow the elliptical orbit andwill be as far away from earth as it gets. Apart from being smaller, theMoon will appear a bit dimmer than usual as well.——————————
The moon will appear red as mentioned earlier and there is a scientificreason behind it. Frederick Walter, a physics and astronomy professor atStony Brook University, explains the reason saying:
Blue light bends more than red light, so blue light actually gets scatteredout.
The light coming from the sun that illuminates the moon during an eclipsehas to pass through earth’s atmosphere first. As it encounters theatmosphere, the blue wavelength gets scattered while the red easily passesthrough it. Hence, the red wavelength is projected on to the moon making itappear rusty red.
People in Europe and the Middle East will have a good view of the BloodMoon while North Americans will miss it. North America will have a bit ofan extra treat as people there will be able to see Mars directly oppositeto the sun.
In Pakistan and neighboring countries, the entire eclipse will be visiblefrom start to end. The penumbral beginning of the lunar eclipse will bearound 10:14:47 pm today. However, the full eclipse will start at 12.30.15am midnight and will end on 2:13:44 am.
You can view the areas from which the lunar eclipse will be visible byclicking on this link link.