Lunar eclipse on July 27-28 to be longest of this century

NEW DELHI: The ministry of earth sciences on Friday said the lunar eclipse, on July 27-28 with a totality duration of 1 hour 43 minutes, will be longest total lunar eclipse of this century (2001-2100) and it will be visible from all parts of India.

Sharing details of the upcoming eclipse, the ministry said, “The partial eclipse of the moon will begin at 11.54 PM (IST) on July 27. The Moon will be gradually covered by the earth’s shadow and the totality phase will begin at 1am (IST) on July 28. “The total eclipse will last up to 2.43am (IST) on 28 July. Then the moon will start to gradually come out of Earth’s shadow and partial eclipse will end at 3.49am (IST) on July 28.”

Such long duration of total lunar eclipses had earlier occurred on July 16, 2000 for a total duration of 1 hour 46 minutes and another one on June 15, 2011 for 1 hour 40 minutes.

The ministry also shared details of other celestial phenomena where red planet Mars and sun will lie opposite each other on July 27, keeping the earth in the middle. This will result in Mars coming close to the earth, causing it to appear brighter than normal and it will be seen from evening to dawn towards the end of July.

“The brighter Mars will remain very close to the eclipsed Moon in the sky on July 27-28 and can be spotted very easily with the naked eye,” said the ministry in a statement.