Get ready for total lunar eclipse

There is a total lunar eclipse of the full moon on October 8, from 14:44 to 18:06 hours IST. But in India it will be a partial lunar eclipse and will occur in New Delhi between 17:58 to 18:06 hours. It’s also known as Blood Moon due to its reddish colour, which is the second of four so-called Blood Moon eclipses. In North America and the Hawaiian Islands, the total lunar eclipse will be visible during the wee hours before sunrise on October 8. In New Zealand, Australia and eastern Asia, the total eclipse will be visible after sunset on October 8. A partial lunar eclipse can be visible before sunrise on October 8 in many parts of South America, and after sunset of October 8 in western Asia.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its shadow. This occurs only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in a straight line exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth being in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The kind and duration of an eclipse depends upon the Moon's location and the alignment of the Sun, Earth and the Moon.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which is viewed only in a small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the dark side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only few minutes at any given place, this is because the moon's shadow is smaller. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view through the naked eye.

Lunar eclipse has no effect on weather but, during a lunar eclipse there are low tides because of moon's low gravitational force. In a lunar eclipse the moon is covered by the earth's shadow therefore, the gravitational force is not strong. The opposite happens during a solar eclipse.

A partial solar eclipse will occur on 23rd October, 2014 which incidentally is Diwali.