The last lunar eclipse of 2021 will take place on November 19 as the full moon rises in the skies. The celestial event is rare since it will be one of the longest since the year 1440, spanning over six hours and will be visible across the world including India.

While parts of North America and South America will witness the full extent of the eclipse, India will be able to get a glimpse of the final moments of the event. The eclipse will begin at 11.32 am when the Sun, Earth, and Moon will come into alignment, forming a partial lunar eclipse.

A NEAR-TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

The Moon will pass through the southern part of the shadow of the Earth for a near-total lunar eclipse. According to Nasa, the partial shadow of Earth will begin falling on the upper left part of the Moon at 11:32:09 am IST. The slight dimming of the Moon will not be noticeable until the full shadow of the Earth begins falling on the upper part of the Moon at 12:48 pm IST.

The arc of the shadow of the round Earth will spread across the Moon until the peak of the eclipse at 2:32 pm, when over 97 per cent of the Moon will be in full shadow and only a small sliver of the left side of the Moon will shine in the partial shadow of the Earth.

The full shadow of the Earth will gradually move off the Moon to the lower right, completely emerging from the full shadow at 4:17 pm IST. The Moon will fully exit the partial shadow of the Earth at 5:33 pm IST.

“The full shadow of the Earth is not black due to light filtering through the atmosphere. However, If you were on the Moon in this shadow and looking back at the Earth, you would see all of the Earth’s sunrises and sunsets falling on you and the surface around you, giving the Moon a reddish-brown colour,” Nasa said in a release.

WHICH INDIAN CITIES WILL SEE THE PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE?

People in northeast India will be able to view the final phases of the partial lunar eclipse. The eclipse will be visible in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and neighbouring regions.

Meanwhile, the penumbral eclipse will be visible in parts of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha for a brief amount of time.

THE LONGEST ECLIPSE IN OVER FIVE CENTURIES

The November 19 partial lunar eclipse will shatter records for the longest eclipse becoming longer than a total lunar eclipse. The reason this celestial phenomenon will be unusually long is that it comes 41 hours after the Moon reaches apogee, its farthest point from Earth. The farther away the moon is, the longer it takes to travel along, resulting in more time to move out of Earth’s shadow.

According to timeanddate.com, the November 19 partial lunar eclipse will sustain its record for another four thousand years as the six-hour-long partial lunar eclipse will likely happen on October 9, 2489.

FULL MOON ON NOV 19

The next full moon will be seen in the skies on Friday, appearing opposite the sun. The Moon will appear in full for about three days around this time, from Wednesday night through Saturday morning.

The full moon has different names across the world, including the Beaver, Frost/Frosty, or Snow Moon; Kartik Purnima, the full Moon of the Festivals of Karthika Deepam, Karthikai Vilakkidu, Thrikarthika, Loi Krathong, Bon Om Touk, and Tazaungdaing; and Ill (or Il) Poya.

In most calendars, the month changes with the new Moon and full moon falls near the middle of the lunar months.