After 149 years of wait partial lunar eclipse to happen on Guru Purnima, visible in India

On 16 and 17 July, many parts of the world will able to witness a partial lunar eclipse including India. Other than India, the partial lunar eclipse will also be visible from many other regions of Asia and Europe, Australia, South America, and Australia.

This is for the first time after 149 years that Guru Purnima will collide with Chandra Grahan on 16 July. This is a special festival celebrated by Buddhist and Hindus where they pay respect and show their gratitude to their teacher and gurus.

During a lunar eclipse, the earth casts a shadow on the moon. This shadow has a central and outer shadow called umbra and penumbra, respectively. When the Moon completely passes through the umbra or when the earth, sun, and moon are in a straight line, a total lunar eclipse takes place. When it partially crosses through the umbra and penumbra region, we get to see a partial lunar eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the moon doesn’t fall in the penumbra. Naturally, a partial lunar eclipse always starts off as a penumbral lunar eclipse.

In India, people will get to see the penumbral lunar eclipse starting from 12.13 am on 17 July. At 1.31 am, it will transition into a partial lunar eclipse and it will reach maximum eclipse at 3 am. Following that, it will again enter into penumbral lunar eclipse after the partial lunar eclipse ends at 4.29 am. Finally, the penumbral lunar eclipse will end at 5.47 am.

This is the last lunar eclipse of 2019 and therefore, it is special. According to Eclipsewise:

“the next lunar eclipse occurs on 10 Jan 2020. Followed by three more in the same year. However, this will be a penumbral lunar eclipse. From the same source, the next total lunar eclipse will take place on 26 May 2021 whereas the next partial lunar eclipse happens on 19 November 2021.”

Now that you know the date and timing of the partial lunar eclipse, you can witness the rare event.