GUWAHATI, Oct 6 � The people in India will be able to witness the last stages of the total eclipse of the Moon on October 8.
�There will be total eclipse of the Moon on October 8. This is the second and the last lunar eclipse of the year 2014. Only the last stage of the eclipse will be visible from India as during most of the eclipse the Moon will be below the horizon,� said Arvind Paranjpye, director of Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
He said the eclipse on October 8 will begin at 1.43 pm (Indian Standard Time) �when the Moon enters the penumbral shadow of the Earth.�
The totality of the eclipse begins at 3.54 pm and the eclipse ends at 7.05 pm IST.
Giving details of the event, Paranjpye said the Moon will enter penumbra at 1.43 pm on October 8, followed by it entering the umbra at 2.44 pm.
The start of totality of the eclipse will be at 3.54 pm and the eclipse will be at the maximum at 4.24 pm.
The end of totality will be at 4.54 pm. The Moon will leave umbra at 6.04 pm and it will leave the penumbra at 7.04 pm.
Paranjpye, however, called upon astronomy enthusiasts across the country, to check the moon rise time at their own respective city.
�A lunar eclipse takes place on the full moon night when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon comes on a straight line. Normally during the full moon phase that takes place once every month, the Moon passes slightly below or above the shadow of the Earth. This is because the plane in which the Moon orbits the Earth is inclined by about five degrees,� he said.
Paranjpye added, �But on occasions the Moon passes through the shadow zone of the Earth (between blue lines) and when this happens we see the Eclipse of the Moon. The shadow of the Earth has two parts central dark part called umbra and fainter outer part called penumbra.�
