Eclipse, May 23: The first lunar eclipse of 2021 is soon going to happen, but do you know that this eclipse is not like other eclipses? This year, the importance of eclipse is different as three lunar events will be taking place all at once, namely ‘Supermoon‘, ‘Red Blood Moon’ and a Lunar Eclipse.
On May 26, the first total lunar eclipse will be visible from Australia, the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Ocean, and North and South America. For Indians, the moon will be below the eastern horizon, due to which people won’t be able to view the Blood Moon.
The total Lunar Eclipse 2021 that happens in the month of May is also called Flower Moon, as it occurs during the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere.
What is Super Moon?
The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is not perfectly circular, so the distance between the two varies as the Moon goes around the Earth. The closes point in the orbit is called perigee which is around 28,000 miles closer to the planet. So when a full moon happens near the perigee, it is known as Supermoon as on that point, the full moon looks 30 per cent bigger and 14 per cent brighter than the normal full moon.
What is Red Blood Moon?
Blood Moon occurs when the moon is completely covered by the Earth’s shadow, but instead of going black, it takes on a red colour. This is the only reason why sometimes total lunar eclipses are called Red Blood Moon.
“The eclipsed moon is dimly illuminated by red-orange light leftover from all of the sunsets and sunrises occurring around the world at that time. The more dust or clouds in Earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear,” said NASA.
Also Read: The last solar eclipse of 2020 on December 14 | Read details
Super Blood Moon Timing
On May 26, the super moon will occur at around 7:23 pm, when the full moon will be at perigee. The distance between the Earth and the Super Moon will be 3,57,309 km. So those who want to witness this magical lunar moment can view it through a telescope.
When and where to see the lunar eclipse in 2021
On May 26, the first lunar eclipse of the year 2021 will occur and astronomers have claimed that this will be a total lunar eclipse. People in India, South Asia, East Asia, Australia, and much of North America, South America, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Antarctica will be able to see the eclipse on the day.
The first lunar eclipse of 2021 is going to be an especially superlunar event, as it will be a supermoon, a lunar eclipse and a red blood moon all at once.
The total lunar eclipse would start at 2:17 pm in India and end at 7:19 pm. The earth will cover the moon by 101.6 per cent during this event. The partial eclipse of the moon will start around 3:15 pm and end at 6:22 pm in Kolkata.
According to Hindu beliefs, people avoid using sharp objects during the eclipse and even observe fast. There is also a sutak period which is a time before the lunar eclipse when any kind of auspicious work is stopped. It begins nine hours before the eclipse starts and concludes with the eclipse.
