Long Total Lunar Eclipse 2011 on June 15
The first Lunar Eclipse of 2011 will be long. Not just few minutes like those of past events, but a whopping 1 hour and 40 minutes long.
The eclipse can be viewed from beginning to end from eastern Africa, central Asia, the Middle East and western Australia. Unfortunately, it cannot be seen in the U.S. The rest of the continental U.S. will have to wait until April 15, 2014 to witness a total lunar eclipse.
NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak said that since the moon will pass close to the center of the Earth’s shadow, the total eclipse phase will be longer than usual.
The next total lunar eclipse will fall on Dec. 10 with best viewing from Asia and Australia. The moon will be completely blotted out for 51 minutes. Only parts of the U.S. including Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest will catch a glimpse.
The total lunar eclipse begins at 11:53 pm (IST) on June 15, Wednesday. It reaches its maximum at 01:43 am (IST) on June 16 and ends at 03:33 am (IST) early morning on June 16, Thursday. The eclipse is visible throughout India as per the Lahiri’s Indian Ephemeris 2011 edition.
The Moon enters penumbra at 10: 53 pm (IST) on June 15 and leaves penumbra at 04:32 am (IST) on June 16. Total duration of the eclipse would be 03 hrs 40 minutes. Magnitude – 1.705. All of the above data are sourced from Lahiri’s Indian Ephemeris 2011 edition.