Partial lunar eclipse today

COLOMBO: Sri Lankans could observe a partial lunar eclipse today when the moon approaches overhead close to midnight.

The eclipse begins at 11.53 p.m. with the moon entering into the penumbra of the earth’s shadow (less dark shadow), but the dimming on the moon light at this phase may not noticeable to the naked eyes.

However, the eclipse will be clearly visible to the naked eye observers from 01.06 a.m. onwards on the 17th morning with the moon entering into the Umbra (the dark part of the earth’s shadow) and it will be visible for three hours and nine minutes till the moon leaves the Umbra at 4.15 a.m.

The middle of the eclipse takes place at 2.40 a.m. and ends up at 5.27 a.m. with the moon leaving the penumbra of the earth shadow.

This eclipse is visible to the countries in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. There is no harm of observing lunar eclipses through naked eyes, said Dr. Chandana Jayaratne, Consultant on Astronomy of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies and Senior Lecturer in Physics, Colombo University.