Skywatchers across the world witnessed a stunning event last night, a total lunar eclipse, also known as ‘Chandra Grahan’. This lunar eclipse, which is the second one for this year, also produced a Blood Moon. The Earth’s shadow started covering the lunar disc at 9:57 pm. By 11.01 pm, the Earth’s shadow completely covered the moon, turning it coppery red, putting up a rare display of a Blood Moon.
The total lunar eclipse peaked around 11.48 pm and ended at around 12:22 am. The lunar eclipse lasted for a little over 48 minutes across India for celestial enthusiasts to witness. The eclipse was visible to the naked eye. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the lunar surface.
Instead of going completely dark, the Moon looks red because Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light while bending the longer red wavelengths toward the Moon. This natural effect is the same reason we see brilliant red and orange hues during sunsets.
