People across the world are waiting for the big supermoon event on Wednesday, May 26. The moon will appear blood red in some parts of the globe due to the total lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses take place when Earth’s shadow blocks the light from the Sun. This leads to the Moon coming under Earth’s penumbra, resulting in a partial or full lunar eclipse. The May 26 event is a total lunar eclipse in which the moon will reach the closest point in Earth’s orbit. Every year there are days when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align in a straight line that leads to lunar and solar eclipses. People also believe that an eclipse can have an impact on 12 zodiac signs along with the country and the world.
In 2021, there will be four eclipses i.e. two lunar and two solar eclipses in India. There are going to be 4 eclipses in 2021 starting from May 26 – Total Lunar Eclipse, June 10 – Annual Solar Eclipse, November 19 – Partial Lunar Eclipse and December 4 – Total Solar Eclipse. The partial phase of the eclipse will begin on the afternoon of May 26 at 3:15 pm IST and end at 6:23 pm IST. The total phase will begin at 4:39 pm IST and end at 4:58 pm IST. It will be visible from parts of northeastern states, parts of West Bengal, some coastal parts of Odisha and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
According to Hindu beliefs, people avoid using sharp objects during the eclipse and even observe fast. There is also a sutak period which is a time before the lunar eclipse when any kind of auspicious work is stopped. It begins nine hours before the eclipse starts and concludes with the eclipse. The total lunar eclipse won’t be visible from all parts of the world. However, these people can take to the internet to watch the live stream of the supermoon event.
WHAT’S A SUPER MOON?
A supermoon occurs when a full or new moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to the Earth. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is not perfectly circular. This means the Moon’s distance from Earth varies as it goes around the planet. The closest point in the orbit, called the perigee, is roughly 28,000 miles closer to Earth than the farthest point of the orbit. A full moon that happens near the perigee is called a supermoon.
SO WHY IS IT SUPER?
The relatively close proximity of the Moon makes it seem a little bit bigger and brighter than usual, though the difference between a supermoon and a normal moon is usually hard to notice unless you’re looking at two pictures side by side.
HOW DOES A LUNAR ECLIPSE WORK?
A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth’s shadow covers all or part of the Moon. This can only happen during a full moon, so first, it helps to understand what makes a full moon. Like the Earth, half of the Moon is illuminated by the sun at any one time. A full moon happens when the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. This allows you see the entire lit-up side, which looks like a round disc in the night sky.
If the Moon had a totally flat orbit, every full moon would be a lunar eclipse. But the Moon’s orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees relative to Earth’s orbit. So, most of the time a full moon ends up a little above or below the shadow cast by the Earth. But twice in each lunar orbit, the Moon is on the same horizontal plane as both the Earth and Sun. If this corresponds to a full moon, the Sun, the Earth and the Moon will form a straight line and the Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow. This results in a total lunar eclipse.
HOW TO SEE A LUNAR ECLIPSE?
To see a lunar eclipse, you need to be on the night side of the Earth while the Moon passes through the shadow. The best place to see the eclipse on May 26, 2021, will be the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Australia, the East Coast of Asia and the West Coast of the Americas. It will be visible on the eastern half of the U.S., but only the very earliest stages before the Moon sets.
The partial phase of the eclipse will begin on the afternoon of May 26 at 3:15 pm IST and end at at 6:23 pm IST. The total phase will begin at 4:39 pm IST and end at 4:58 pm IST.
WHY DOES THE MOON LOOK RED?
When the Moon is completely covered by Earth’s shadow it will darken, but doesn’t go completely black. Instead, it takes on a red color, which is why total lunar eclipses are sometimes called red or blood moons. Sunlight contains all colours of visible light. The particles of gas that make up Earth’s atmosphere are more likely to scatter blue wavelengths of light while redder wavelengths pass through. This is called Rayleigh scattering, and it’s why the sky is blue and sunrises and sunsets are often red. In the case of a lunar eclipse, red light can pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and is refracted or bent toward the Moon, while blue light is filtered out. This leaves the moon with a pale reddish hue during an eclipse.
LUNAR ECLIPSE MAY WORSEN CYCLONE YAAS IMPACT
Astrophysicist, disaster management experts and Calenderologist are expressing concern full moon and lunar eclipse may aggravate Cyclone Yaas intensity. As it is known that during a full moon, the sun, earth and the moon come in a straight line and it causes heavy gravitational effects on our planet. This gravitational effect usually causes a swell in the ocean/ rivers and causes abnormal high tidal waves (than normal days). Now the experts fear that if the timing of landfall ‘Yaas’ clashes with the timings of the full moon and lunar eclipse then it will trigger the tidal waves and devastation will be much higher.
HOW LUNAR ECLIPSE WILL AFFECT YOUR ZODIAC SIGN?
In astrology, lunar eclipse has some deep impact on our zodiac signs. The cosmic event activates the lunar nodes in our birth charts, as the moon glides across an elliptical that is constantly rotating around the zodiac. The highest and lowest points of this orbit correspond with the lunar nodes that appear in our birth charts as south and north nodes. These two nodes, also referred to as the Nodes of Fate, symbolize our past and future.
NASA HQ TWEET PHOTOS OF MOONRISE
NASA Headquarters Photo Department tweet photos of Moonrise above National Harbor in Fort Washington, Maryland, as viewed from under the Woodrow Wilson Memorial bridge in Alexandria, Virginia.
SUPERMOON VISIBLE IN THE U.S.
© Provided by News18 A supermoon gives backdrop to a Brood X cicada as it breaks out of its nymph shell on the branch of a tree, late Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland in the US. (PTI Photo)
YOU CAN WATCH CHANDRA GRAHAN ONLINE IN INDIA
The total lunar eclipse won’t be visible from all parts of the world. However, these people can take to the internet to watch the live stream of the supermoon event.
1) Griffith Observatory: The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, US has scheduled a live stream on YouTube beginning at 2:15 pm IST on Wednesday. The observatory will not hold public or in-person events like the earlier times due to Covid-19 pandemic.
2) The Virtual Telescope Project, based in Italy, will broadcast not one but two live streams. The online observatory, founded by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, will first stream the lunar eclipse at 3:30 pm IST while the supermoon will be broadcast later in the night.
3) Lowell Observatory, also known as the Home of Pluto since the planet was discovered at the facility in 1930, has also scheduled a live stream on Youtube for 3:00 pm IST on May 26. Multiple telescopes at the facility in Arizona, US will allow skywatchers to get a glimpse of the supermoon from the comfort of their homes.
NASA RELEASES TELESCOPIC VIEW OF MOON
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