The most effective, amazing and evident astronomical event in the sky is an ‘Eclipse.’ Mysureans are highly privileged to witness a partial lunar eclipse on Aug.7. The Partial Lunar Eclipse will be visible from South and East Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. Only partial phase of the eclipse can be seen from all parts of India.
Lunar eclipses, which may be total or partial, can occur only at full moon when Sun, Earth and Moon are in line. As the Sun is an extended light source, Earth’s shadow has two components — a dark, central UMBRA, where the Sun is completely obscured, and a lighter outer PENUMBRA, within which the obscuration is partial. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon passes first through the penumbra, taking about an hour, moving eastward by its own diameter in this time, to reach the western edge of the umbra. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the umbral region of the Earth’s shadow and becomes imperceptible. Lunar eclipse is discernible from a large part of the Earth.
