Lunar eclipse 2020 date: When and where to watch penumbral eclipse in India | Time, duration of Chandra Grahan

Lunar eclipse 2020 in India - when and where to watch: There is an opportunity for sky watchers of India to witness the lunar eclipse or ‘Chandra Grahan’ for the one last time this year. The celestial event will occur on November 30 and will be penumbral in nature. This is the fourth and last lunar eclipse of the year. Penumbral lunar eclipse is a phenomenon that takes place

when the Moon moves through the faint outer part of Earth’s shadow (penumbra) instead of the dark shadow (umbra). Hence, it is not marked as a regular eclipse. The passage through the lighter shadow effectively decreases the brightness of the Moon, albeit only slightly. In simple words, penumbral is an eclipse during which the shade of the Moon will turn darker for a few hours. Last lunar eclipse of 2020 is also coinciding with the auspicious ‘Kartik Purnima’ in India.

The phenomenon will be seen in many parts of the world, including North and South America, Australia, and parts of Asia.

Lunar eclipse is a celestial event which takes place as the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon. The Earth’s shadow restricts or blocks some or all of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon during the celestial event.  

There are three types of a lunar eclipse – a total lunar eclipse, partial lunar eclipse and penumbral lunar eclipse. Incidentally this year all lunar eclipses were penumbral ones.  First penumbral eclipse of the year was witnessed on January 10. Next two occurred on June 5 and July 5.

Duration of the lunar eclipse 2020
It is said that the eclipse occurring on November 30 will last 4 hours and 21 minutes. However, only part of the eclipse will be visible in India. This is because the moon will be below the horizon some time.  

The penumbral lunar eclipse is expected to begin around 1.02 pm and will be at its peak at 3.12 pm. The celestial event will end at 5.23 pm IST.

Occurrence of penumbral eclipse
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For a penumbral eclipse to occur, two celestial events must happen at the same time: The moon must be in the full moon phase, and sun, earth, and moon must all be nearly aligned, but not as perfectly aligned as during a total or partial eclipse.