The moon during a lunar eclipse, in New Delhi, Friday, May 5, 2023. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)Chandra grahan in India, Lunar eclipse 2023 live: The penumbral lunar eclipse that happened last night (May 5) was visible to viewers in India, unlike the solar eclipse that happened on April 20. But it might have been a little difficult to spot since it is a penumbral eclipse.
All eclipses begin and end as penumbral eclipses. But during an eclipse, if the Moon passes through the dark part of the Earth’s shadow (umbra), it turns into either a partial or a total eclipse, where one part of or the entire Moon will be completely obscured. But that is not the case tonight.
But during last night’s lunar eclipse, the Moon only passed through the faint outer edges of the Earth’s shadow (penumbra). Due to this, the only visible change was that the disc of Earth’s lone satellite was almost imperceptibly dimmed.
For viewers in New Delhi, the eclipse started at 8.45 PM IST on May 5 and went on till 1.02 AM IST on May 6. It was visible in all regions of the world where the moon was be above the horizon during the eclipse. This includes Antarctica, Asia, Russia, Africa and Oceania. The eclipse was at its greatest at around 10.54 PM IST on May 5.
Yesterday’s eclipse coincided with the “Flower Moon,” which is a name for the full moon that happens in May every year. It is called Flower Moon because springtime typically starts around May in the Northern Hemisphere and the season is associated with an abundance of flowers.
In the video below, you can see highlights from The Virtual Telescope Project’s stream of the eclipse. Below that, you can see images of the eclipse taken from around the world and our highlights as it happened.
If during a lunar eclipse, the Moon moves completely into the Earth’s umbra (the dark part of its shadow), you get a total eclipse. A total eclipse will start off as a penumbral eclipse before it becomes a partial eclipse, and then, it will enter totality. This process will then be reversed till the eclipse is over. Tonight’s eclipse is a penumbral one, where the Moon will only move through Earth’s penumbra.
The eclipse is now at its peak.
On April 25, this year, the Japanese privately-built Hakuto lander failed to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. Interestingly, two other spacecraft failed in a similar way. India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission crashed into the Moon on September 6, 2019, when attempting to land. Earlier that year, Israel’s Beresheet lander, another privately-built spacecraft, also crashed while attempting to land.
Technically, all lunar eclipses start and end as penumbral eclipses. This means that they all start and end with the Moon in the Earth’s penumbra, which is the faint outer part of the Moon’s shadow. If the moon enters the umbra, or the stronger inner part of the Earth’s shadow, it will become a partial or total eclipse.
Since tonight’s eclipse is a penumbral eclipse, it might be a little difficult to spot. So make sure you have an unobstructed view of the Moon so that you can see it get slightly dimmer as the eclipse progresses.
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at directly with your eyes. In fact, tonight’s penumbral eclipse might be quite difficult to spot even if you look at it head-on. While you don’t need any eye protection equipment to view the lunar eclipse, we would recommend a nice telescope or a good pair of binoculars so that you can spot the Moon getting ever so dimmer.
Since tonight’s eclipse is a penumbral eclipse, the Moon will likely not take on the reddish tinge that is associated with “blood moons.” But why does the Moon turn red during a total eclipse?
Interestingly, it is the same reason why the colour of the sky is blue—a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering. During a total eclipse, the only sunlight that reaches the Moon is the light that passes through our planet’s atmosphere.
When light passes through the atmosphere, the particles scatter the bluer wavelengths of light in all directions. This is what gives the sky its characteristic blue colour. Since the bluer wavelengths of light are scattered more, the redder wavelengths of light pass through the atmosphere and reach the Moon. This reder light is then reflected back to us by the Moon, which appears red for that reason.
If you hear the word lunar eclipse, the first image that rushes to your mind is probably that of the Moon’s illuminated disc being obscured by a big shadow. But that will not happen during tonight’s lunar eclipse.
The reason for that is that tonight’s eclipse is a penumbral lunar eclipse. What does that mean?
The penumbra is the Earth’s fainter outer shadow, as opposed to the stronger inner shadow umbra. The partial or total solar eclipse that you are imagining happens when the Moon passes through the umbra. But since the Moon is only passing through the penumbra tonight, it means that the only real effect you can see during most of the eclipse is that Earth’s lone natural satellite will appear a little less brighter than usual.
In fact, it is quite possible that you will not be able to differentiate between the eclipse and a normal full Moon. But unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to view directly with your eyes. This also means that you can use some sort of optical device, like a telescope or a pair of binoculars, to get a clearer view.
The penumbral lunar eclipse has now begun and should be visible in many parts of the world where the Moon is above the horizon. But since it is a penumbral eclipse, it could be quite difficult to spot it this early on.
The Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow between 8.45 PM IST and 1.02 PM IST, according to In the Sky. Since the Moon will be above the horizon for most parts of India during the time, the eclipse should also technically be visible. The time of greatest eclipse is at 10.54 PM IST.
If you are wondering why tonight’s lunar eclipse is happening just days after the solar eclipse on April 20, it is no coincidence. Solar eclipses are typically followed by lunar eclipses, and the one on April 20 was no exception.
In some years, there can be two such eclipses and a third one later that year but that is extremely rare. According to NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak, three eclipses will fall in the same calendar only three times during the period between the years 1801 and 2300.
Lunar eclipses happen when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up. Also, every time the Moon orbits the Earth, it passes almost exactly opposite to the Sun in the sky as it reaches full moon. So why doesn’t a lunar eclipse happen more often?
The operative word there is “almost.” The Moon’s orbit is tilted at an angle of about 5 degrees with respect to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This means that the Sun-Earth-Moon alignment is rarely ever exact. This means that the Moon only actually lines up perfectly to create a lunar eclipse once or twice a year on average.
The penumbral lunar eclipse will not be the only thing to marvel at in the night sky. The eclipse will be happening as the η-Aquariid meteor shower is reaching its peak. The meteor shower was active from April 19 to May 28 and it should reach its peak around May 6, according to In the Sky.
For the second year in a row, the flower Moon will coincide with the lunar eclipse. What is a flower Moon? That is the word given to the full moon that happens in May. This is because May signals springtime in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere and the season is associated with an abundance of flowers. 2022’s Flower Moon was an especially spectacular event because it happened at the time of a total lunar eclipse.
Based on a reanalysis of data from Voyager 2 and other spacecraft, NASA scientists have concluded that four of Uranus's largest moons could have subsurface oceans.
If during a lunar eclipse, the Moon moves completely into the Earth’s umbra (the dark part of its shadow), you get a total eclipse. A total eclipse will start off as a penumbral eclipse before it becomes a partial eclipse, and then, it will enter totality. This process will then be reversed till the eclipse is over. Tonight’s eclipse is a penumbral one, where the Moon will only move through Earth’s penumbra.
The Earth’s penumbra is the faint outer region of its shadow. The umbra is the strong inner region. During an eclipse, if the Moon only passes through the penumbra, it is known as a penumbral lunar eclipse. When it also passes through the umbra, it becomes either a partial or a total lunar eclipse, depending on how much of its “disc” is covered.
Since the Moon is only passing through the penumbra, tonight’s lunar eclipse could be a little difficult to differentiate from a normal full moon.
The Earth is much larger than the Moon, which means that our planet's shadow is also much larger than that of its only natural satellite. Due to this, lunar eclipses tend to be visible in wider parts of the world. Tonight's penumbral eclipse will be visible in all parts of the world where the Moon will be above the horizon at the time, including Africa, Antarctica, Asia and Oceania.