Rare lunar eclipse event seeing not one but three phases of the moon is set to occur on the 31st of January. The celestial event will see a lunar eclipse, blue moon and the supermoon. This is the first eclipse of 2018 and second full moon of the calendar month. The moon will be closest to the Earth and will be seen in different shades of blue and red as it passes through the earth’s shadow. Astronomy enthusiasts will get to witness this rare spectacle of an event which is occurring nearly after 150 years.

The partial eclipse will begin at 5.18 PM IST and end by 8.42 PM. The total eclipse will start from 6.21 PM and end at 7.38 PM. The duration of the entire eclipse is 3 hours 24 minutes. But the entire eclipse can be witnessed only from northeastern part of the country including Kolkata. The beginning of the partial phases cannot be seen from other parts of the country as it begins before the moonrise timings. Even the beginning of the total phase will not be visible from the western coast of the country.

Time-Table of Total Lunar Eclipse in Various Indian Cities on 31st January, 2018

PLACES Moon Rise        ( IST) Umbral phase Totality Greatest Totality Umbral phase
begins at

17h 18m

(IST)

 begins at

18h 21m (IST)

 Phase at

19h 00m (IST)

 Ends at

19h 38m

(IST)

 Ends at

20h 42m

( IST)
  H:M     Visibility    
Agartala 17:03 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Ahmedabad 18:21  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Aijawl 16:57 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Ajmer 18:08  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Allahabad 17:40  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Amritsar 17:58  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Bangalore 18:15  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Bhagalpur 17:19  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Bhopal 18:02  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Bhubaneswar 17:31  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Cannanore 18:26  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Chandigarh 17:48  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Chennai 18:04  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Cochin 18:25  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Cooch Behar 17:06 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Cuttack 17:30  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Darjeeling 17:10 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Dehradun 17:47  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Delhi 17:54  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Dibrugarh 16:41 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Dwarka 18:37  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Gandhinagar 18:21  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Gangtok 17:08 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Gaya 17:28  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Guwahati 16:58 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Haridwar 17:46  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Hyderabad 18:05  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Imphal 16:50 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Itanagar 16:47 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Jaipur 18:02  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Jalandhar 17:53  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Jammu 17:57  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Kanyakumari 18:22  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Kavalur 18:08  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Kavaratti 18:37  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Kohima 16:47 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Kolkata 17:17 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Kozikode 18:25  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Lucknow 17:41  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Madurai 18:17  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Mangalore 18:27  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Mount Abu 18:19  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Mumbai 18:27  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Murshidabad 17:14 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Muzaffarpur 17:24  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Mysore 18:20  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Nagpur 17:58  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Nasik 18:21  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Panaji 18:25  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Patna 17:26  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Pondicherry 18:07  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Port Blair 17:14 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Pune 18:23  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Puri 17:32  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Raipur 17:47  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Rajkot 18:30  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Ranchi 17:28  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Shillong 16:57 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Shimla 17:50  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Silchar 16:55 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Siliguri 17:10 Visible Visible Visible Visible Visible
Silvassa 18:24  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Srinagar 17:54  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Thiruvanantapuram 18:24  *  * Visible Visible Visible
Udaipur 18:15  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Ujjain 18:08  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Vadodara 18:20  * Visible Visible Visible Visible
Varanasi 17:35  * Visible Visible Visible Visible

 

The * represents the moon rising after the particular phase. So one cannot see that phenomenon there.

The umbral phase means when the moon enters the shadow of the earth while its rotation. Total umbral phase means the entire Moon enters the inner shadow. Certain states have made special arrangements for witnessing this celestial event. If you love observing the stars and the moon, then prepare yourself for this rare event. You wouldn’t want to miss this. The next eclipse of the Moon will occur on July 27-28, 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2018 12:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).