Moon turns 'Blood Red': Watch a Total Lunar Eclipse from NASA| LIVE

New Delhi, May 16: Stargazers experienced some heavenly wonder as they caught a glimpse of blood moon in the skies - this involved a total lunar eclipse occurring at the same time.

A "blood moon" happens when Earth's moon is in a total lunar eclipse.

Why a lunar eclipse looks red?

NASA explains since only sunlight reaching the Moon passes through Earth's atmosphere, the dust or clouds give the eclipse a reddish appearance. As light travels in waves, different colors of light have different physical properties. It the same phenomenon that makes our sky look blue.

Chandra Grahan 2022: Date and timings

On May 16, the lunar eclipse will start at 07:02 in the morning and will end at 12:20 in the afternoon. The total eclipse effect is expected to peak around 08:59 a.m. on May 16. At that time, the first Blood Moon of 2022 will become more clearly visible.

According to NASA, the moon will enter the outer part of the Earth's shadow at 7:02 am on May 16th. The entire Moon will be in the Earth's umbra (full shadow) appearing red at 08:59 a.m. The eclipse will end at 12:20 pm on May 16th.

At 1 hour and 25 minutes, this is going to be the longest duration of eclipse totality, or annularity, NASA has said.

Where and when can I watch the lunar eclipse?

The eclipse will be visible for a large portion of the world, including those in the Americas, much of Europe and Africa, and parts of the Pacific. Joseph Rao, an associate astronomer at the Hayden Planetarium in New York, estimates that some 2.7 billion people should be able to catch at least part of the eclipse.

Watch the eclipse with NASA! If the eclipse is visible in your area, we encourage you to go outside and observe. NASA will be livestreaming the eclipse with experts commenting on each step of the process.