Article Posted on : - Jun 15, 2011

NEW DELHI (BNS): A lunar eclipse, unusually long and dark, will occur on Wednesday night, when the Moon will get deeply immersed inside the umbral (darker) shadow of the Earth.

The celestial phenomena will be the longest and darkest total lunar eclipse of the century after a gap of 11 years. The total phase of the eclipse will last 100 minutes.

The last such eclipse exceeding such a long duration occurred on July 16, 2000 which lasted for 107 minutes.

The next such eclipse will occur 130 years later – only in 2141, according to planetary scientists.

Wednesday’s lunar eclipse will begin at 1724 GMT and end at 2300 GMT. Totality, the time when Earth's shadow completely covers the Moon, will last about an hour and 41 minutes, according to NASA.

The eclipse will be visible completely in Africa and Central Asia. It will be visible rising over South America, Western Africa and Europe, and seen setting over Eastern Asia, including India, and Australia.

It will, however, not be visible from North America.

Another interesting occurrence during the eclipse would be the occultation of a star named 51 Ophiuchi in the constellation of Ophiuchus.

At 11:29 PM Wednesday, the Moon will occult (hide) behind the star 51 Ophiuchi. The star will reappear after 90 minutes at 01:01 AM of June 16.

Wednesday’s eclipse will provide a treat for sky enthusiasts to witness and capture the celestial event.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth in course of its orbit around the Sun, comes between the Moon and Sun in such a way that Moon is hidden in the shadow cast by Earth.

The next lunar eclipse to be viewed in India will be in December this year.