Pics: Atul Bhat

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (JD)

Mangaluru, May 6: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse was occurred on May 5 in the city.

The eclipse was visible clearly from Mangaluru for the entire duration from 8.44 pm to 1.01 am. The eclipse could not be seen clearly from Bengaluru and Udupi due to clouds. There was also a Halo observed around the moon from Mangaluru.

The penumbral shadow is a part of the shadow of any object. The darkest region of the shadow of any object is called the umbra and the light, blurry outer edge of the shadow is called the penumbra. When the moon passes only through the Earth’s penumbra, they call it a penumbral lunar eclipse and when the moon passes partially through earth’s umbra, it is called a partial lunar eclipse. If the Moon completely passes through the earth’s umbra, it turns red and is called a total lunar eclipse.

Penumbral eclipses are hard to notice, as the earth’s penumbral shadow is faint and the reduction in the brightness of the moon at peak eclipse will be very less. For an untrained eye, the peak eclipse might look like a normal full moon with a slightly reduced brightness.