Mumbai

On the evening of November 8, as the Earth's shadow envelopes its sole satellite for nearly one-and-half hours, the world will witness a thrilling and chilling spectacle of a 'Blood Moon' lunar eclipse.

Coming exactly 14 days (two Tuesdays) after the October 25 partial solar eclipse - the lunar eclipse will be seen in totality in the northeastern states, but shall be only partially visible in the rest of India in the evening as the sun sets.

The next one (total lunar eclipse) due only after three years on September 7, 2025.

The Earth will come between the Sun and Moon and the blue planet's monstrous shadow - from a staggering distance of 3.93 lakh kms - will shroud its small natural satellite, partially or fully, depending on the angle of alignment from where it is viewed.

The Sun is around 109 times bigger than Earth and over 148-million kms away, while the Earth is nearly four times larger than the Moon, with an average distance of 385 lakh kms separating them.

In a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is entirely blanketed by the Earth's darkest shadow, called the 'umbra', and at this time, the Moon appears a dark-reddish colour, or what is called the 'Blood Moon' phenomenon.

In scientific terms, it's called the 'Rayleigh Scattering' as during a lunar eclipse the only sunlight that reaches the Moon passes through the Earth's atmosphere, thus turning the Moon an apparent reddish colour.

This is the second celestial event since the last partial Solar Eclipse (October 25), and can be witnessed by people in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, parts of Asia, Russia, North and South Americas, Australia, North Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions.

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In case people miss the 'Blood Moon' on Tuesday, they can wait for October 28, 2023, when there will be another partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in some parts of the country, Prof. Adur smiled.