Moon of Blood: Prepare to Watch the Longest Lunar Eclipse of the Century

FFriday will be a memorable day as the world witnesses the rare celestial feast of the longest lunar eclipse to date. The total lunar eclipse will last one hour and 43 minutes Friday evening and Saturday morning. The longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century, also called Chandra Grahan, is a cosmic phenomenon popularly called "blood moon". The vast majority of people on Earth will be able to see this stellar show, which coincides with Mars' closest approach to the Earth in more than a decade.

A complete lunar eclipse will take place around midnight on Friday and will last until the wee hours of Saturday, with a total duration of 1 hour 43 minutes. The longest total lunar eclipse of the last century occurred on July 16, 2000, lasting nearly four minutes longer, at 1 hour and 46.4 minutes. We will not have the opportunity to see such a long lunar eclipse before June 9, 2123, according to a report National Geographic .

Lunar eclipse total delays in India

In India, the eclipse will begin around 23:54. on July 27, the total eclipse would start at 1 am on July 28 and end at 2:43. Viewers in India, especially astronomy enthusiasts, are in luck since the record, partial and total eclipse, will be fully visible from most PTI reports.

Where you can see it in India

The total lunar eclipse will be visible through several cities, including Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Mumbai, reported NDTV ].

But it will not be visible in North America and Antarctica. People from Asia, the Middle East and Africa will have the best view of the eclipse and those from Europe, South America and Australia will see partial views.

Here's all you need to know about this rare cosmic phenomenon of the 21st century:

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, the Earth and the Moon are perfectly aligned or when the Earth enters the Sun and the Moon and covers the Moon with its shadow. The Moon pbades directly behind the Earth and in its shadow and a lunar eclipse can occur only on the night of the full moon or the day of Poornima. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth completely blocks the direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. During the eclipse, the moon will be at its farthest point from Earth in its orbit of a month, known as the "climax". The apogee moon will make the lunar eclipse 13 percent smaller than the average. As a result, it will take longer for the moon or Earth's natural satellite to cross the Earth's shadow, making the eclipse longer, the Guardian reported.

What is a blood moon? The lunar eclipse and the blood moon are essentially the same with slightly different meanings. A "blood moon" is a familiar term for a lunar eclipse. A blood moon is caused by an effect known as Rayleigh scattering; this happens when the moon is in total shade during the total eclipse, some sunlight pbades through the atmosphere of the Earth and is curved toward the moon. Typically, the moon reflects sunlight, but during an eclipse, the orbit of the moon takes light through the shadow of the Earth. And the light that reaches the moon is tinged with a reddish hue. The only light that we can see is refracted through the shadow of the earth, and this light is red as at sunset. This is why the astronomical event is often called "blood moon".