The world is preparing to witness a rare celestial spectacle – Total Lunar Eclipse 2022, on November 8. Thankfully, parts of India will also witness the beautiful reddish hue of the moon on the same date. After this, the next lunar eclipse will befall in March 2025. Places where the eclipse will be ascertainable are North and Central America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Lunar Eclipse and its visibility in India
A lunar eclipse is basically when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are very closely aligned with Earth between the other two. And what’s more fascinating is that during a lunar eclipse, the Moon will turn red because of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering.
Not all places in India will be able to see the red-hued Moon. However, the eastern states can catch a glimpse of the spectacle’s “totality ending” phase. In this phase, the Moon will exit Earth’s umbra and the dimming red colour will be visible.
This phase will occur in 5.12 pm on November 8. It will be visible in Agartala (Tripura), Aizawl (Mizoram), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Bhubaneswar and Cuttack (Odisha), Kohima (Nagaland), Kolkata and Darjeeling (West Bengal). Check the full list here.
Shine bright like the Moon
No equipment will be required to observe the lunar eclipse but telescopes and binoculars will definitely improve the experience. As per NASA experts, the more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the Moon will appear. The alluring scene will appear as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon.