First lunar eclipse of 2023 tonight: How to watch
Tonight, we will see the first lunar eclipse of the year. The celestial event will be visible in India as well. However, skywatchers have not been particularly excited about the lunar eclipse because this one will be hard to observe. It will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, meaning the changes in the brightness of the Moon will be hard to spot with naked eye.
Why does this story matter?
Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is at its fullest. During these events, the Earth comes in between the Moon and the Sun, and all three bodies lie in the same plane of orbit. Coincidentally, the Eta Aqarids meteor shower is also at its peak today, which means you will be able to observe the most number of shooting stars.
What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?
What happens in a penumbral lunar eclipse is that the outer portion of the Earth's shadow, called the penumbral shadow, falls on the Moon and the Earth blocks only a part of the Sun's light from reaching the Moon. This type of lunar eclipse is subtle and hard to observe since the Moon's brightness will dim only slightly.
The lunar eclipse will be visible all over India
The penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible from all over India, provided the weather conditions are favorable. The eclipse will also be observable in most regions in Asia, the eastern half of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, among other locations. According to the MP Birla Planetarium, all stages of the penumbral lunar eclipse, from the start to the end, will be visible across India.
When will the eclipse start?
According to the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the lunar eclipse will start at 8:44pm IST and will reach the maximum at 10:52pm IST. It will end at 1:01am IST, May 6. The lunar eclipse will last for roughly four hours and 15 minutes. Also, it is safe to watch lunar eclipses without any aid. You can also watch the live stream of the event.
When will we see the next lunar eclipse?
This year, we will get to see another lunar eclipse on October 28. It will be a partial eclipse. We will have to wait until March 2024 to see another penumbral lunar eclipse. The wait for a total lunar eclipse is much longer. The next one will occur only in March 2025. Before this, we saw a total lunar eclipse in November 2022.
