The first lunar eclipse of 2021 will take place on May 26, Wednesday. Blood Moon or Total Lunar Eclipse is also known as Purna Chandra Grahan in Hindi, happens when Moon passes through the dark shadow of the earth and reflects a reddish-orange light in the sky. It will be the first lunar eclipse since January 2019. Besides this, there will also be a series of celestial events since Monday and are worth watching. If you are a skywatcher, what are you waiting for? Schedule your time, collect your equipment and get ready.
Visibility and Timing of Blood Moon
Blood Moon will be visible in areas of southeast Asia, Australia, Oceania, Alaska, Canada, USA, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and South America. As for India, it will only be visible as a penumbral lunar eclipse and will be for five minutes.
However, the total lunar eclipse will be visible for around 15 minutes, but including partial and total eclipse, it will last for three hours and seven minutes. Starting from 2:17 pm IST (08:47 am UTC), the full eclipse will start appearing at 4:41 pm IST (11:11 am UTC), will be at its peak at 4:48 pm IST (11:18 am UTC), stays in its full state till 4:55 pm IST(11:25 am UTC) and will end at 7:19 am IST (01:49 pm UTC).
Events from May 17 – May 26
According to NASA, on May 17, the planet Mercury “reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from the Earth” and can be visible from the naked eye.
On May 19, the moon will seem to be ”half-full as it reaches its first quarter” says NASA, and Venus will join Mercury above the horizon, between May 19 and May 20 ”waxing half-full moon will appear above the bright star Regulus” and can be seen with a telescope.
On May 23 and 24, Spica, a bright star, can be seen on the right of the moon. ”In late May or early June ‘Near-Earth Object’ will pass the Earth traveling at 22,800 miles per hour”.
On May 25, at 9:51 pm EDT, the moon will be at perigee, the closest to earth for this orbit.
May 26 welcomes a total lunar eclipse. When the Moon passes in the shadow of the earth, it darkens and becomes reddish. The red color comes from the filtering of the sunlight from the atmosphere.
Other Eclipses in 2021
- Annular Solar Eclipse – 10 June
- Partial Lunar Eclipse – 19 November
- Total Solar Eclipse – 4 December
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