This Century’s Longest Total Lunar Eclipse on July 27; Know More

Bhubaneswar: It will be a sight to behold on July 27, when the moon will turn blood red as the Earth will cast its shadow on the moon. This eclipse will be 21st century’s longest total lunar eclipse that will last for about one hour and 43 minutes.

For a better insight into the eclipse, Odisha Bytes spoke to Subhendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director of Planetarium in Bhubaneswar.

“The partial eclipse, which will be visible to the naked eye, will start at 11.54 pm when the moon starts entering the Umbra, a dark shadow, which will slowly move on the surface of the moon till it is totally covered by 1 am marking the beginning of the total lunar eclipse. The total eclipse will last for one hour 43 minutes between 01.01 am and 02.43 am on July 28. The shadow will start receding from the surface of the moon after 2.43am and the moon will come out of the Umbra completely at 3.50 am. However, the eclipse shall end at 04.58 am with the exit of the moon from the Penumbra,” informed Subhendu.

During the total eclipse, the moon will appear dim and blood red in colour provided the sky is clear of clouds, he added. The partial and total eclipse shall be visible to the naked eye in the whole country.

A total lunar eclipse happens when the moon travels through the Earth’s Umbra and blocks all direct sunlight from illuminating its surface. However, some sunlight still reaches the lunar surface indirectly, via the Earth’s atmosphere, where due to scattering of lights, only red colour light reaches the moon turning it reddish, yellow, or orange.

“The earlier total lunar eclipse on January 31, 2018, lasted for 1 hour and 16 minutes,” he said.  From start to finish, the moon takes nearly four hours (3 hours and 55 minutes) to cross the Earth’s dark Umbral shadow.

Speaking about superstitions related to an eclipse, he said, they have created fear, curiosity and disbelief in many ancient civilizations. “Many ancient cultures tried to understand why the Sun temporarily vanished from the sky, or the moon turned blood red in colour and they came up with their own theories. In many cultures, the legends surrounding eclipses involve mythical figures eating or stealing the Sun. Others interpreted the event as a sign of angry or quarreling gods and in Hindu mythology, people believe the demons Rahu and Ketu are responsible for such an act,” he said.

A popular misconception, he further said, is that solar eclipses can be a danger to pregnant women and their unborn children. “Young children and pregnant women are asked to stay indoors during a solar eclipse. In many parts of India, people fast during a solar eclipse due to the belief that any food cooked during an eclipse, will be poisonous and not pure,” he added.

However, scientists and astronomers around the world have debunked any such claims. There is no scientific evidence that eclipses can affect human behaviour, health, or the environment. “To prove the same, we had a community feast during an eclipse some 20 years ago. Busting such myths is important,” he said.