Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 2024: The year’s first lunar eclipse will appear on March 25 in India, which is also the date for Holi. It will be a penumbral lunar eclipse, and since in several regions of the world, the Moon will fly like a ghost on the night between March 24 and 25, the celestial event has also been termed as the ‘ghost lunar eclipse’. In India, the penumbral lunar eclipse will begin in the morning, and end in the afternoon.
The eclipse will not be visible in India. The penumbral eclipse will begin at around 10:23 am IST, the maximum eclipse will occur at around 12:42 pm IST, and the penumbral eclipse will end at around 3:02 pm IST, on March 25, according to timeanddate.com. The reason the penumbral lunar eclipse will not be visible in India is that the Moon will be below the horizon when the eclipse occurs.
What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?
A penumbral lunar eclipse is one in which the Moon travels through the Earth’s penumbra, the lighter outer part of the planet’s shadow. The Moon’s brightness slightly decreases during a penumbral lunar eclipse. Also, the Moon just misses the Earth’s umbra, which is the darkest, inner part of the planet’s shadow.
This type of eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned, and some of the Sun’s light is blocked by the Earth from directly reaching the Moon’s surface.
Since the Moon is not located exactly opposite to the Sun, the former comes inside the Earth’s penumbra. Had the Moon been located exactly opposite to the Sun, a total lunar eclipse, in which the Moon is immersed in the darkest part of the Earth’s inner shadow, would have occurred.
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How to watch the penumbral lunar eclipse
People in India can see how the lunar eclipse would appear in other parts of the world, by watching a livestream of the event.
One can watch the livestream of the penumbral lunar eclipse on YouTube, or by clicking on the video embedded below.
What and when is the next eclipse this year?
The second eclipse this eclipse season will be a total solar eclipse. It will appear on April 8.
This will be the first solar eclipse of 2024. It will not be visible in India.