People watch from atop a hill a red moon during a complete lunar eclipse at the Tio Pio park in Madrid.
Blood Moon 2018: Century's LONGEST total lunar eclipse
Blood Moon Chandragrahan 2018: For over six hours, stargazers and common across the world witnessed a spectacular celestial phenomenon - the Blood Moon 2018, the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century on the night of July 27-28. Blood Moon or Total Lunar Eclipse is a rare celestial event, which lasted beyond 100 minutes.BLOOD MOON-PHASES
The Blood Moon 2018 was majorly be seen in the Eastern Hemisphere including Central Asia and Eastern Africa. The Blood Moon 2018 was first visible in India from around 10:44pm IST while its capital New Delhi was right between the action of the full total eclipse at around 1 am IST on Saturday, July 28 which ended at 2.43am IST. Moreover, in July 2018, the full moon, as well as the lunar apogee fall, occurred on the exact same date, which is July 27 and lunar apogee is said to be the moon’s farthest orbital point from the Earth, which makes it appear particularly small and distant.
CHANDRA GRAHAN 2018: The first part of the lunar eclipse saw the Moon fall under the Earth’s shadow. This part of the eclipse is known as the penumbral eclipse, as the Moon is under partial influence of the shadow cast by the Earth also called Umbra.
Visual of moon before lunar eclipse from Hyderabad's Chaar Minar.
LIVE STREAMING OF LUNAR ECLIPSE: The most-awaited phase of the eclipse, the total lunar eclipse, set in from 1 am IST on July 28. It was visible in Indian cities like Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, etc. However, cloudy skies played spoilsport in Delhi and its adjoining areas.
Visuals of lunar eclipse from Varanasi
For the duration of the total lunar eclipse, the Moon was completely engulfed by the Earth’s shadow. The Moon got to the height of the eclipse at around 1.51 am, at which point it reached the centre of the Umbra. This persisted until 2.43 am, after which the Moon began to move outside the Earth’s shadow. The total lunar eclipse lasted 103 minutes, which made it the century’s longest.
Visuals of lunar eclipse from Thiruvananthapuram.
As the Moon continued on its orbit, and pulled away from the Umbra, stargazers noticed another partial lunar eclipse. This picked up from around 2.43 am IST, which was then followed by another penumbral eclipse. While the partial lunar eclipse concluded by3.49 am, and the penumbral eclipse ended by about 4.58 am.
Visual of moon before lunar eclipse from Amritsar's Golden temple
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What is Blood Moon 2018 or Total Lunar Eclipse?
Blood Moon or Total Lunar eclipse occurs when the moon glows a deep red colour due to sunlight scattering. As there is no direct sunlight hitting the moon during an eclipse, all of the light which reaches the moon and bounces back to Earth is indirect. The indirect light goes through Rayleigh scattering as it passes through Earth's atmosphere. This, in effect, scatters the longer blue and violet wavelengths more than the shorter red and orange wavelengths.
A supermoon rises behind the roof of the Sydney Opera House.
Hence, more red/orange wavelength light reaches the moon and is bounced back to Earth, presenting to us a deep red blood moon. Another unique factor about this year's total lunar eclipse is that the Earth is close to the farthest it will be from the Sun. The reason this lunar eclipse is the longest of the 21st century is because it passes through the center of Earth's shadow, increasing the time in which the moon is blocked from the sun.
Lunar Eclipse 2018
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Time of lunar eclipse or Blood Moon in 2018
The Blood Moon 2018 was majorly seen in the Eastern Hemisphere including Central Asia and Eastern Africa on the night of July 27-28. While stargazers in India were able to see initial stages of the Blood Moon 2018 on July 27, the particular stage is known as the Penumbral phase. The Blood Moon 2018 was first visible in India from around 10:44 pm IST while New Delhi was right between the action of the full total eclipse at around 1 am IST on Saturday, July 28 which ended at 2.43am IST. However, overcast sky prevented people from enjoying the magnificent event. The partial eclipse started again around 3:49 am. At 4:58 am, the penumbral eclipse ended. The total duration of the eclipse was six hours and 14 minutes.
Blood Moon in Vietnam
Not only the lunar eclipse, but planet Mars was also witnessed at the end of July. The Red Planet is on approach to its closest pass by Earth in decades. Mars, the Fourth Planet from the Sun, aligned with the Earth and the Sun on July 27, for an annual event known as Opposition.
Visuals of Lunar Eclipse from Punjab's Ludhiana
This is when the Sun, Earth and Mars will be lined up perfectly, with Mars on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. At that time, Mars was up all night long, from dusk until dawn, and it will be crossing the sky with the Full Thunder Moon – the smallest, most distant ‘apogee’ Full Moon of 2018.
Blood Moon 2018
Total Lunar Eclipse or Blood Moon 2018: In Which parts of the world the shadow of the moon during an eclipse was visible?
1. Africa
2. Central Asia
3. South in North America
4. South America
5. Western Africa
6. Europe
7. Much of Asia
8. Australia
9. Pacific Ocean
10. Atlantic Ocean
11. Indian Ocean
12. Antarctica
When is lunar eclipse Blood Moon visible in India
Blood Moon 2018: How long the Total Lunar eclipse lasted?
The total lunar eclipse, also featuring the Blood Moon, lasted for a whopping one hour and 43 minutes. This also outstrips the Super Blue Blood Moon combination that occurred in January of this year by nearly three-quarters of an hour. The Blood Moon 2018 was first visible in India from around 10:44pm IST. The partial eclipse started again around 3:49 am. At 4:58 am, the penumbral eclipse ended.
Blood Moon 2018: Why was this Lunar Eclipse so special?
Blood Moon 2018 or Total Lunar Eclipse 2018 cast a larger shadow over the earth than the previously recorded moons. An interesting fact is that today the Earth was at its farthest distance from the Sun, and the Moon was also at its greatest distance from the Earth. This year's blood moon also saw the Moon cast in a crimson red hue for the duration of the eclipse.
Blood Moon 2018 or Total Lunar Eclipse: When was it visible in UK, US and other parts of the world?
The eclipse was visible from Central Asia to Eastern Africa and Europe, Southern America, West Africa and Australia. Astronomers said that the exact time of moonrise differed across the UK but the eclipse was visible to the entire country.
Over London, the Blood Moon rose roughly at 8.50pm BST. In Glasgow moonrise was scheduled at 9.26pm BST and Cardiff saw the moon peak over the horizon at 9.01pm BST.
In Australia, the Blood Moon 2018 or Total Lunar eclipse began slightly later in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 28.
Stargazers in Melbourne saw the penumbral stage of the eclipse begin at 3.14am AEST and the full eclipse will kicked off at 5.30am AEST.
In Sydney, the eclipse started roughly at the same time but all the way in Perth, the total eclipse started at 3.30am AWST.
When is the next lunar eclipse in India?
After witnessing this celestial treat of Blood Moon, India will witness the next lunar eclipse on December 31, 2028.
