NEW DELHI: While India will miss its date with one of the rare celestial events called the
Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan) today. Indians, however, can watch the spectacle through LIVE Stream on
timeanddate.com and the Virtual Telescope Project as there is no official live stream available from NASA. The Super Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse can be seen from 10:11 am. It will last for one hour and 2 minutes. The moon will appear reddish in colour and will be a sight to behold for skywatchers.
The Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse will be seen from Europe, Africa and the America and no special technical equipment like binoculars or telescope would be required for the same.
The full Moon will appear bigger than normal because it is closer to the Earth - about 222,000 miles (358,000 kilometers) away - which earns it the nickname "super Moon."
Other monikers for it are "Wolf Moon," a traditional way of coining an eclipse in the month of January, and a "Blood Moon" because of its rusty, red color. Hence the name for this year's event: a "super blood wolf Moon."
At the peak of the eclipse, and if the night skies are clear of clouds, Venus and Jupiter should be shining brightly in the night sky.
Chandra grahan or Lunar Eclipse timings across the world:
-Monday at 0334 GMT, or 4:34 in the morning in France or 10:34 pm in Quebec, the partial eclipse will begin as the Moon passes into Earth's shadow.
-In the United States, the edge of the Moon will begin to fall into shadow at about 7:33 pm on the West Coast and 10:33 pm on the East Coast, according to NASA.
-From 0441 to 0543 GMT: for an hour and two minutes, the Moon will be entirely in Earth's shadow. But the Moon will not be invisible: it will appear tinted in hues of red, orange and pink.
-At 0651 GMT, the Moon will be completely out of the Earth's shadow.
Where will the Chandra grahan or Super Blood Wolf Moon be visible from?
Europe and West Africa will have a good view of the eclipse, but not all the way until the end. Eastern Europe will see the beginning of totality, but not the end. North Africa and West Africa should see the end of totality, but will miss the final phases of the eclipse.
The entire eclipse should be visible in North America, Central America and South America, as well as France, Belgium and Spain.
That is, as long as the view is not obscured by clouds.
Why will Super Blood Wolf Moon or Chandra grahan appear red?
During a lunar eclipse, the Moon appears red because the light of the Sun no longer directly illuminates it, since Earth is passing in between the Moon and Sun.
"The color is due to Rayleigh scattering -- where the Sun's blue light is scattered off molecules in Earth's atmosphere -- which also happens at sunsets," explained the Royal Astronomical Society of Britain.
"The Sun's red light is scattered much less by air, and is bent by Earth's atmosphere in a process called refraction, traveling all the way through it to light up the Moon's surface."