Watch the ‘Strawberry Full Moon’ lunar eclipse live today for free— without having to leave the house during the lockdown

• The ‘Strawberry Full Moon’ will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on Friday, June 5.
  
• Considering the current lockdown in India, even though the lunar eclipse will be visible, it could be difficult to leave the city for clearer skies.
  
• Here’s how you can catch the live stream of the penumbral lunar eclipse for free as you stay safe indoors.
  

The lockdown and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic places some restrictions on travel, which could make it difficult to catch the wonder of the penumbral lunar eclipse of June 5. However, there are plenty of ways that you can watch the lunar eclipse or Chandra Grahan happening live — online.

Keep in mind that a penumbral lunar eclipse is generally more subtle that a total lunar eclipse. For ordinary observers, it can be difficult to distinguish from a full moon since it only ‘slightly’ darkens the moon. A partial penumbral lunar eclipse, like the one set to occur on June 5, can be even more difficult to differentiate unless you have a telescope on hand.


Here’s how you can get a front-row seat for the upcoming lunar eclipse or Chandra Grehan:
The Virtual Telescope Project will be live streaming the entire eclipse from Italy as the moon makes its way over Rome’s skyline. Joining the live feed is free. The stream will start on June 5 at 7:00 pm UT (12:30 am IST).


(The list will be updated as more observatories post their schedules for the lunar eclipse.)

What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Moon and the Sun. Since the Sun doesn’t general its own light, when the Earth blocks the light coming in from the Sun, it throws a shadow onto the Moon’s surface.

A penumbral lunar eclipse is the weakest of all lunar eclipses. The Moon only moves through the faint, outer part of the Earth’s shadow called the penumbra. It’s often mistaken for a full moon rather than an actual eclipse since the alignment of the Sun, Moon and Earth is far from perfect.

During a partial and total lunar eclipse, the Earth’s central shadow — the umbra — falls onto the Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth is able to completely block out the Sun’s light, pulling the Moon into complete darkness. However, during a partial lunar eclipse, the alignment of the three celestial bodies is still imperfect. The Earth’s shadow is only able to block some of the Sun’s light, so only a small part of the Moon is darkened.

However, if you happen to have a telescope on hand — you’ll notice the Moon slightly darken during the time.

The Strawberry Moon penumbral lunar eclipse is the first one of the year. The second is set to occur on July 5 —- the third in the season of eclipses this year — during the Buck Moon. The third penumbral lunar eclipse will occur a few months later, in November, during the Beaver Full Moon.

In order of a penumbral lunar eclipse to occur there are two underlying conditions. One, that the Moon must be in the ‘Full Moon’ phase. And second, the Earth, Sun and Moon should be ‘nearly aligned’ but not as closely aligned as during a partial lunar eclipse.

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The first lunar eclipse of the season will occur on June 5 — with two more to follow on June 21 and July 5