Lunar Eclipse 2023 highlights: Hunter Moon coincides with partial lunar eclipse

Visuals of lunar eclipse from Kolkata.

Visuals of lunar eclipse from Kolkata, West Bengal.#LunarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/jrtGeGRLic

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 28, 2023

Full Hunter's Moon lunar eclipse, last eclipse of 2023, an early Halloween treat for stargazers (photos) https://t.co/MwPEDMOvvs pic.twitter.com/d9Ax7ShUcO

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) October 28, 2023

Visuals of lunar eclipse from Mumbai, Maharashtra.#LunarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/lSPOthWcq1

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 28, 2023

Partial lunar eclipse graces the night sky

Edited video is available on PTI Videos (https://t.co/L2D7HH3xZ2) #PTINewsAlerts #PTIVideos @PTI_News pic.twitter.com/cASFZl0FD8

— PTI News Alerts (@PTI_NewsAlerts) October 29, 2023

The doors of temples across Uttarakhand, including Badrinath and Kedarnath, were closed on Saturday evening for the 'Sutak' period of the last lunar eclipse of this year which occurred after midnight.

The Sutak period began at 4.05 pm on Saturday, while the lunar eclipse will started at 1.04 am on Sunday, according to PTI.

Across Europe, the Moon is coming into view and right now, it is shining over Italy's Tuscany region. 

(Source: timeandate.com)

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance ?

October's full moon – the Hunter's Moon – will peak at 4:24pm ET (2024 UTC) on Saturday, Oct. 28. Look out for cosmic companion Jupiter, which will appear at lower left of the Moon. https://t.co/gVOZsUNWzp pic.twitter.com/GCe9EYCoda

— NASA (@NASA) October 28, 2023

The eclipse starts becoming visible at 1.06 AM IST, but that does not mean that is when it begins. The partial lunar eclipse technically begins at 11.33 PM on Saturday. That is when the Moon enters a part of the Earth’s shadow called the penumbra. The outer part of the Earth’s shadow will begin covering the Moon’s disc at that time, but it will pretty much be imperceptible to human eyes. That is why most of us will have to wait till 1.06 AM IST on October 29, when the Moon enters the Earth’s penumbra (the dark part of its shadow) At that point, part of the Moon will get visibly dimmer until it reaches the point of maximum eclipse at 1.45 AM IST.

Full Hunter's Moon puts on a spooky display today with partial lunar eclipse https://t.co/IUfOEP92o0

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) October 28, 2023

The India Meteorological Department took to social media platform X and wrote, "A partial #LunarEclipse will occur on Oct 28-29, 2023, Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 Kartika, 1945 Saka Era. Watch as Earth moves between the Sun & Moon & witness the beauty of astronomy in action!"

For sky gazers & enthusiasts: Get ready for the cosmic event of the year! A partial #LunarEclipse will occur on Oct 28-29, 2023, Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 Kartika, 1945 Saka Era. Watch as Earth moves between the Sun & Moon & witness the beauty of astronomy in action! pic.twitter.com/MWq9mRaB5Q

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) October 28, 2023

The Moon completes one full rotation around the Earth every month, lining up in the direction of the Sun during the new moon and in the opposite direction of the Sun during a full moon. But if that is the case, why don’t lunar eclipses happen twice every month? 

This is because the Moon orbits the Earth with an orbit that is slightly tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit around the Sun. But this tilt remains constant relative to the stars, meaning that it changes relative to the Sun. That means that the Moon gets in the right position to pass through the Earth’s shadow about twice a year, causing a lunar eclipse.

No matter which day of the month or which month of the year you look at the Moon, you always see the same side. Of course, sometimes part of it is bright and part of it is dark as the natural satellite waxes and wanes. We always see the same side of the Moon because it is tidally locked to the Earth. 

The Moon rotates but it takes as long for it to spin on its own axis as it does for it to complete its monthly orbit around the planet. This means that it never “turns its back” on us. Think of it like a dancer circling their partner but always facing them.While that may sound like a rare cosmic phenomenon, it is actually quite common—all of the large moons in the solar system are tidally locked to the planet they orbit. This is called “synchronous tidal locking.” 

Interestingly, while we do see the same face of the Moon every day, it will seem “upside down” to those viewing it from Australia or other parts of the southern hemisphere. Conversely, the Moon will appear upside down in the northern hemisphere for someone visiting from the South.

At about 1.06 AM IST tonight, you will start seeing the Moon slowly pass into Earth’s umbra, the dark part of the planet’s shadow. Slowly, this shadow will start covering more and more of the Moon until 1.45 AM IST, when about 12 per cent of the Moon’s disk will be covered. After that, the eclipse will start receding until about 2.23 AM IST, when we will see a normal full moon again.

The eclipse is not the only site in the night sky tonight. The Comet Lemmon (C/2023 H2) will make its closest approach to the Sun on October 29, according to In the Sky. The comet should be visible in the night sky from New Delhi between 2.37 AM IST and 5.31 AM IST. It should be visible about 22 degrees above the north-eastern horizon before it fades from view with the break of dawn. To spot it, you might need to go to a place without much light pollution and also use either a telescope or a pair of binoculars. 

Chandra Grahan 2023: Looking at the Sun during a solar eclipse is as dangerous as looking at the Sun directly any other day. Unlike that, looking at a lunar eclipse is completely safe. You can do so without any protective equipment. You can also use a pair of binoculars or a telescope to get a better view of the Moon. 

Lunar Eclipse 2023: The full moon tonight is known as the Hunter’s Moon, which is the full Moon after the Harvest Moon. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, that is because it is the time when leaves fall and the deer are fattened, making it a good time to hunt. Also, since harvesters typically reap the fields before this time, it is easier for hunters to spot. The earliest use of the term “Hunter’s Moon” was in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1710, according to NASA. 

Chandra Grahan 2023: Tonight’s lunar eclipse is a partial one which means that the Moon will not have the reddish tinge associated with a “blood moon,” but what is a blood moon?

It is a pheonemon that happens during a total eclipse, when the dark part of the Earth’s shadow (umbra) covers the whole Moon. At that point, the only light being reflected to us by the Moon is that which passes through our planet’s atmosphere. The air particle in the atmosphere scatter the shorter (bluer) wavelengths of light in a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering. This is the same reason why the sky is blue. This also means that the higher (redder) wavelengths of light passes though the atmosphere, reflecting off the Moon, giving it the characteristic red tinge of the Blood Moon. 

Lunar eclipse 2023: If you are wondering, no, it is not a coincidence that this lunar eclipse is happening so soon after the October 14 annular solar eclipse. Solar eclipses are usually followed by lunar eclipses, and the one on October 14 was no exception.

Chandra Grahan 2023: The lunar eclipse tonight is the second one this year. On May 5 this year, we got to witness a penumbral lunar eclipse. The umbra is the strong inner shadow of the Earth, while the penumbra is the faint outer region. If the Moon only passes through the penumbra of Earth’s shadow during an eclipse, it is known as a penumbral lunar eclipse. Because of this, the lunar eclipse on May 5 this year was quite difficult to spot. In fact, the only difference was that the Moon became slightly, almost imperceptibly, dimmer. 

Lunar Eclipse 2023 live updates: Solar and lunar eclipses happen when the Sun, Moon and Earth align. So if the Moon orbits the Earth around once every month, shouldn’t eclipses happen more often? Well, no. The Moon does not orbit the Earth in the exact same plan that the Earth orbits the Sun. But sometimes, the Moon does fall in the same plane. This happens approximately once every year, according to NASA, and it is known as eclipse season.