Partial lunar eclipse tomorrow

New Delhi, Sep 6 (UNI) A partial eclipse of the moon will be visible in India from near midnight tomorrow and unlike the solar eclipse, it is safe to watch with the naked eye.

The more than one-and-a-half-hour celestial event will be visible from all parts of the country, the Science and Technology Ministry said today.

In India, the eclipse will begin from 2335 hrs tomorrow and end at 0108 hrs the next day.

''A very small fraction of the moon is falling under the shadow of the earth and interestingly it is a very long duration eclipse,'' Nehru Planetarium Director Dr N Rathnasree told UNI.

''It's absolutely safe to watch the lunar eclipse with the naked eye. And life is not going to be affected because of viewing the event,'' Dr Rathnasree said referring to superstitions associated with celestial events.

However, viewing will not be perfect with the naked eye and star gazers tomorrow would require a ''good telescope'' to see it.

The longer duration of the eclipse is due to the fact that the moon is presently closer to the earth and thus appearing a little larger.

As far as the feature of the eclipse is concerned, only a small fraction of the moon will appear dark during the 93 minutes of the event. Unlike the solar eclipse, the period of the event will be uniform across the country.

Interestingly, while the eclipse is in progress, a faint star named H Aquarius (from the Aquarius constellation) can be seen moving behind the moon and reappearing from the other side.

At the Nehru Planetarium here, visitors could have an all-night sky watch and enjoy activities like identifying lunar features.

Immediately after the sunset tomorrow, the planetarium, in collaboration with the NGO 'Space' and the Amateur Astronomers' Association, Delhi, will be organising a sky watch for jupiter followed by a presentation and appreciation of eclipse before actually getting down to watch the eclipse.

The eclipse will also be visible from parts of Antartica, Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe including the British Isles, the ministry said.

The beginning of the eclipse will be visible in New Zealand, Middle of Pacific Ocean, Eastern parts of Australia, Eastern parts of Japan and North-Eastern parts of Russia while the ending will be visible in North-Western parts of Africa, Western parts of Europe, Ireland and Middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

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