A few areas of east India on Friday witnessed a partial lunar eclipse that will end at 4.17 pm today.
Speaking to ANI, Subhendu Pattnaik, Deputy Director, Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Odisha's Bhubaneswar informed that this is the longest partial lunar eclipse that began at 12.47 pm today.
The rare phenomenon will be visible (not with the naked eye) from a few areas of East India, he added.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. This occurs only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned, with Earth between the other two.
A lunar eclipse can occur only on the night of a full moon. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit.
During a partial lunar eclipse, the Earth's shadow passes only through a part of the Moon, resulting in a large dark spot that makes it seem as though a chunk of the Moon has been bitten off.
( With inputs from ANI )
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