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New Delhi:
Nearly 2,000 curious skygazers converged on the New Delhi Nehru Planetarium to witness the longest lunar eclipse of the century, but had to travel to the "Blood Moon". The return was disappointed because the clouds completely surrounded the moon as if to conceal it
The sky changed into ember, but the so-called "blood moon", when the natural satellite of the Earth became bright red, remained elusive. Enthusiasts were waiting anxiously until past midnight as the clouds give way to the spectacular event to become visible.
Many of them had brought their telescopes.
Several regions of northern India, including Delhi, witnessed monsoon rains a few days ago. The annual weather prevented people from enjoying the spectacular celestial event observed in many parts of the world
The "totality" period, when the moonlight is totally darkened, began at 10:53 pm and lasted 103 minutes (1 hour and 43 minutes)
The planetarium had organized a "Carnival of the Moon" and set up special telescopes for people to experience the phenomenon. He had also organized a series of programs, including shows on astronomy, eclipse and even street games.
Amateur astronomers were visibly excited and voluntarily explained the phenomena to visitors.
"Nothing has been seen because of the clouds" Rathnashree, director of Nehru Planetarium, said:
Parents had brought their children to the planetarium to see the rare eclipse but had to come back with a feeling of sadness. Rajiv Sharma, an amateur astronomer, was at the planetarium with his son, daughter, and nephew, but bad weather played the spoilsport.
Many people consoled themselves by watching the shows on astronomy
The shows of today, "said Siddhartha Madaan, a planetarium educator.
The carnival served as a platform for dispelling myths about the lunar eclipse. "For example, many do not eat during the eclipse and there are several notions attached to it, we tried to explain to people through our rooms," said Aniket Singh, a grade 12 student.
coincided with another relatively rare celestial phenomenon known as the Mars Opposition, the closest approach to Mars to the Earth.
