Partial lunar eclipse tonight

[ 7 Sep, 2006 0222hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

HYDERABAD: Another celestial event is about to enthral all astronomy lovers in the city when the partial lunar eclipse occurs on Thursday night.

Though the earth will 'technically' start shadowing the moon by 10.12 pm, the moon will be seen partially covered only by 11.35 pm. "If the skies are clear, then people can watch less than 20 per cent of the moon covered as it is only a partial eclipse.

The eclipse will be visible to the naked eye from 11.35 pm to 01.07 am by when the moon will, for all practical purposes of viewing, come out of the earth's shadow.

However, technically it will remain in the partial shadow of the earth until 02.30 am, but one cannot see this," said B G Sidharth, director, B M Birla Science Centre.

Since it is a Full Moon Day, the moon will rise exactly at sunset and set exactly at sunrise, he added. Meanwhile, the Planetary Society of India has indicated two other celestial events on the same day.

According to its general secretary, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar, the moon will be the closest to earth on Thursday and hence will appear to be 14 per cent larger in size than the normal.

"On February 12, this year the moon was the farthest from earth, and on Thursday it will be closest to earth," he said. He also said the otherwise elusive planet Uranus will also be visible beside the moon on Thursday as a bright blue dot on its right side.

However, B G Sidharth denies that this can happen especially on a Full Moon Night when the moon is brightest and can overshadow any object around with its luminance.

Also, one can look forward to another celestial event on September 22, when the annual solar eclipse will occur. But this is unlikely to be visible in India, Sidharth said.