What makes the 8th November Lunar Eclipse unique?

Close on the heels of the October 25 photo voltaic eclipse comes one more astronomical occasion tomorrow, November 8, 2022. The complete lunar eclipse will likely be the final of 2022 and can solely happen once more after three years.

The lunar eclipse will likely be seen from all elements of the nation; nevertheless, the starting of the partial and complete phases of the eclipse is not going to be seen as the phenomenon will happen earlier than moonrise. The ending of the complete and partial phases of the eclipse will likely be seen in India. 

A complete lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is positioned between the solar and the moon and casts a shadow on the latter. The shadow is categorised into two elements—the umbra, the darkest shadow of the earth that blocks out daylight utterly, and the penumbra, the outermost a part of the shadow, the place daylight is blocked out solely partially. 

A lunar eclipse can solely happen when the orbits of each the earth and the moon are aligned, and the solar and the moon are on reverse ends of the earth.

Also Read | Lunar eclipse on November 8, will solely be partially seen in Bengaluru

What is particular about this lunar eclipse?

The lunar eclipse on November 8 is a blood moon — which means the moon can have a reddish hue. This occurs when the moon is inside the umbra.

The moon takes on a reddish hue attributable to a phenomenon referred to as Rayleigh scattering, which is the scattering of sunshine by particles in a medium and not using a change in wavelength. This can also be the cause why the sky seems blue.

(Image to not scale) Depiction of the scattering of daylight by the earth’s environment throughout a lunar eclipse. Blue gentle scatters away, whereas longer-wavelength purple, orange, and yellow gentle move by means of, turning the moon purple. 

The moon turns purple throughout the eclipse since the solely daylight reaching it’s passing by means of the earth’s environment. The daylight scatters attributable to the mud or clouds in the environment producing the purple color. The extra particles in the environment the stronger the color will likely be, in accordance with a NASA report.

The lunar eclipse will start at 2.39 p.m. and the complete eclipse will begin at 3.46 p.m. The ending time of totality is 5.12 p.m. whereas the ending time of the eclipse is 6.19 p.m, in accordance with the Ministry of Earth Science. The eclipse might be seen with the bare eye, although a pair of binoculars will improve the view. 

The subsequent lunar eclipse will likely be seen from India on October 28, 2023.