After two successive lunar eclipses and one solar eclipse, the third lunar eclipse is taking place right now!
(Image: iStock)
The third lunar eclipse occurs on 4th July 2020.
Usually, this marvel occurs only once or twice in a year, but in 2020 this celestial phenomenon is taking place four times! The last Penumbral lunar eclipse of this year will take place on 29-30 November.
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However, it is not visible to India, as it takes place during the day time. It will be visible to South/North America, Antarctica and, South/West Europe. The total duration of this eclipse is 2 hours 45 minutes.
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According to NASA, a lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and the moon which is why the moon looks different. It is because of the specific positioning of Earth between the Moon and the Sun, the Earth blocks the sunlight which is what causes the Earth’s shadow to fall upon the moon. This is why the moon looks darker, but due to this being a penumbral lunar eclipse, the Moon will move through the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, thus becoming very faint.
There are four types of lunar eclipses- a total lunar eclipse, a partial lunar eclipse, and a hybrid lunar eclipse and an annual lunar eclipse.
The Lunar eclipse goes by many names, traditionally called the ‘buck moon’ because during the early summer male deer grow new antlers is also called ‘the thunder moon’ because of summer storms, hay moon, guru moon and in India it’s called the Chandra Grahan.
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