Moon partially covered by the earth’s shadow during lunar eclipse. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

West Bengal along with other parts of India, the whole of Asia, Europe, Africa, and Russia will witness a partial lunar eclipse on the night of October 28.

The celestial phenomenon will continue till the early hours of October 29, astrophysicist Debi Prasad Duari said.

People in West Bengal will celebrate Laksmi puja on Saturday night.

“There is going to be a partial lunar eclipse on the night of October 28 which can be experienced by people in India along with the entire Asia, Europe, Africa, and Russia. The eclipse will occur during late night of October 28 and will continue till the early hours of October 29,” Mr. Duari told PTI.

He said that on October 28, the moon will be partially eclipsed by the shadow of the earth for some time and will give people in India a chance to experience a partial lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse is marked by two stages of the moon coming under the shadow of the earth. When it enters a partially shadowed region of the earth it is known as the penumbral eclipse, when the moon remains partly lighted.

“The change in brightness is not very much noticeable. After this phase moon will partially enter the actual dark part of the earth’s shadow which is termed an umbral lunar eclipse and is considered the actual eclipse by most people,” he added.

On October 28 night though the penumbral eclipse will start at around 11:31 p.m. Indian Standard Time (IST), but the partial Umbral eclipse, which is more noticeable, will start in the early hours of October 29, at around 1:05 a.m. IST, he said.

“It will become maximum at around 1:44 am and will end by 2:23 am. The magnitude of the partial lunar eclipse will be around 0.12 marked by the maximum obscuration of the lunar disc,” the astrophysicist said.

On October 14 there was an annular solar eclipse which was experienced by the people of mostly North and South America when the ring of fire was observed across a large part of the western hemisphere.

“It occurred when it was night over India and Asia and could not be experienced by people in this region. The day was a New Moon day and marked the beginning of Navratri, celebrated in major parts of India as the beginning of the Durga Puja Festival. In West Bengal and around it was the day of Mahalaya when people offered their prayers to their ancestors ushering in the most celebrated Durga Puja Festival,” Mr. Duari added.

Earth will experience two eclipses this month. After the annular solar eclipse on October 14, the moon will appear partially blocked in the night sky. The lunar eclipse will occur on October 28, two weeks after the solar eclipse. According to space.com, it will be visible over parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, North/East South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic and Antarctica. A lunar eclipse takes place during the full moon phases, when the Earth is positioned precisely between the moon and the Sun.

Time of the lunar eclipse

The celestial event will begin at 3.36 pm EDT (1.06 am IST on October 29) and end at 4.53 pm EDT (2.23 am IST on October 29). This will be the second lunar eclipse of the year after a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 5.

Unlike solar eclipses, watching the moon being shadowed by the Earth with naked eyes is perfectly safe.

Will the lunar eclipse be visible in India?

In-The-Sky.org has prepared a path where the lunar eclipse will be visible. The website said that it will be visible from New Delhi in the south-western sky.

The moon will lie 62 degrees above the horizon at the moment of greatest eclipse, in-the-sky further said.

It also has a simulation that shows the moon’s relative path to the Earth’s shadow. The outer grey circle is the Earth’s penumbra, within which the Earth blocks part of the Sun’s light, making the moon appear less bright than usual, but not completely dark. The inner black circle is the umbra, within which the Earth entirely blocks the Sun’s light, making the moon’s disk appear entirely unilluminated.

How is lunar eclipse formed?

According to American space agency NASA, lunar eclipses occur at the full moon phase.

When Earth is positioned precisely between the Moon and Sun, Earth’s shadow falls upon the surface of the Moon, dimming it and sometimes turning the lunar surface a striking red over the course of a few hours. Each lunar eclipse is visible from half of Earth, the space agency further said.