Lunar eclipse, full moon and comet: Three phenomena to happen today
Los Angeles : In one of the rarest of scientific phenomenon, a lunar eclipse, comet and a full moon will all be visible on earth at the same time.
The first lunar eclipse of 2017 is set to take place on February 11, which will be visible in India on Saturday morning from 4:02:02 AM to 8:25:05.
Meanwhile, a green shining comet will pass through earth along with a bright shining full moon almost at the same time.
Today’s lunar eclipse is called a penumbral eclipse that usually occurs when the sun, moon and earth all line up together and cast grey shadows on the moon.
According to Rajendra Prakash Gupt, superintendent of the government-run Jiwaji Observatory, “A The Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface, and partially covers the Moon with the outer part of its shadow, also known as the penumbra. The intensity of moon’s brightness would lessen and it would become hazy during the eclipse.”
The eclipse will be best visible from European or African nations.
Talking about the full moon, it is also known as the Snow Moon because February is the snowiest month in US and European countries
The comet will pass by at a distance of 7.4 million miles – that’s 30 times further away than the moon. The periodic comet was first spotted in 1948 and returns every five and a quarter years, and is marked out by a bright purple tail.
