Chandra Grahan 2020: Here are the timings of this month's Lunar Eclipse

A report in Earthsky.org has revealed that the penumbral Lunar Eclipse 2020 is all set to occur on November 30. Today’s lunar eclipse is going to be the last one of 2020. The year saw four of the most stunning lunar eclipses. The umbral magnitude of this lunar eclipse is -0.262 and its penumbral magnitude is 0.828. Read on to know the Chandra Grahan 2020 timings.

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What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?

The Earthsky report states that a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon are imperfectly aligned. It is when this happens, that the Earth blocks some of the Sun's light from directly reaching the Moon's surface, thus, covering all or part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra. 

During a total eclipse of the moon, the inner part of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra, falls on the moon’s face. At the time of mid-eclipse, the entire moon is in shadow, hence, it appears as blood red. While during a partial eclipse, the umbra takes a bite out of only a fraction of the moon. 

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About 35% of all eclipses are penumbral. Another 30% are partial eclipses, wherein it appears as if a large, dark bite has been taken out of the moon. The remaining 35% go all the way to becoming total eclipses of the moon, which is a marvellous natural event. Before November 2020, the months of July, June and January 2020 had seen some spectacular scenes during the lunar eclipses. Moreover, the November Lunar Eclipse is called the Beaver Moon, it is also called the Oak Moon and Frosty moon.

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Chandra Grahan 2020 timings

• Chandra Grahan 2020 date: November 30
• Chandra Grahan time: First contact with the penumbra at 01:04 PM.
• Maximum eclipse: 03:13 PM
• Last contact with the penumbra: 05:22 PM
• Duration of the penumbral phase: 04 hours 18 minutes 11 seconds
• The magnitude of the penumbral eclipse: 0.82

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Which part of the world will be able to see the Chandra Grahan?

The penumbral lunar eclipse will mostly be visible in Asia, most of Europe, Australia, North America, South America, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean. Namely in India, the Chandra Grahan 2020 will be visible largely in northern and eastern parts of the country. Countries in the Southern Hemisphere won’t be able to witness the celestial event.