Lunar eclipse 2021 date, time and where we can watch in India

• The second lunar eclipse of the year will happen on November 19, 2021 and this will also be the last one in the year.
• This lunar eclipse can be seen from all parts of America, most parts of Asia and some parts of Europe and West Africa.
• A small part of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam will be able to see this eclipse while those in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh can only see the concluding phase of the eclipse.

Eclipses have always triggered human imagination. Moon is the nearest special object to the earth and a lunar eclipse happens when the earth comes in between the sun and the moon, and casts a shadow on the latter for a brief period of time.

Sky gazers can enjoy one of the most spectacular lunar eclipses on November 19, 2021. This will be the second lunar eclipse in the year and will also be the last one in 2021. The last one occurred on May 26. The upcoming one on Friday will be the longest eclipse in about 580 years, according to Indiana’s Holcomb Observatory.

The next lunar eclipse will happen on May 16, 2022. However, this eclipse will not be visible from India. If you want to watch one another lunar eclipse from the country, you must wait till November 8, 2022.

Time and duration of the eclipse

The November 19, 2021 lunar eclipse will start at 12:48 IST and will end at 16:17 IST. When this eclipse reaches its maximum phase at 14:34 IST, about 97% of the moon will hide itself in the earth’s shadow.

How to watch this eclipse

Those in the North-East part of India will be able to watch this lunar eclipse with their naked eyes. If you get to watch this eclipse from this region, you will never need any special equipment or binoculars to watch this.

As this eclipse will not be visible from other parts of India, the alternative ways to see it are on the live streaming of the eclipse and on the Lowell Observatory’s YouTube channel. Timeanddate.com will also do a live telecast of this lunar eclipse.

For those in Hawaii, this lunar eclipse will happen during midnight when the moon is overhead. From New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South East Asia and China, people can watch this eclipse on the evening of November 19 (local date).

The beaver or frost moon

The full moon you will spot in the sky on November 19, 2021 will be called as beaver or frost moon. The full moon happening in November is called ‘beaver moon’ as it marks the beginning of the season of snowfall and the beavers start building their traps or dams.

In India, the eclipse also coincides with the Hindu festival of Karthik Purnima, also called Karthigai Deepam in Tamil Nadu.

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Lunar eclipse on November 19, 2021 will be the longest one in 1,000 years