An eclipse takes place when one heavenly body, such as the Moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body. There are two types of eclipses on Earth—Solar and Lunar Eclipses. Again there different kinds of solar and lunar eclipses. It could be partial, penumbral or total. The sky gazers this year are blessed as a total of six eclipses are scheduled to be held this year. The first one—a penumbral lunar eclipse already took place on January 10 this year, is the first lunar eclipse of 2020 and also the first for this new decade. The next celestial event of penumbral lunar eclipse is scheduled on June 5, followed by an annular solar eclipse on the same month, the penumbral lunar eclipse on July and November, respectively and a total solar eclipse on December, 2020. In this article, we have mentioned 2020 Eclipses calendar with dates for eclipses 2020 and other related details you should know. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse June 2020: Not Only India, Here's List of Countries And Continents Where The Celestial Event of Chandra Grahan Will be Visible. 

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on June 5, 2020

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and the Moon are aligned, imperfectly. When this happens, the Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from directly reaching the Moon’s surface and also covers all or part of the Moon with the outer part of its shadow. This process is known as the penumbra. The penumbral lunar eclipse on June 5, also known as Strawberry Moon will be visible only from the western Pacific Ocean and parts of Australasia, Asia, Antarctica, Europe, Africa and South America. Timeanddate.com states that the lunar eclipse will begin on June 5 at 11:15 pm IST and will be at its maximum on June 6 at 12:54 am.

Annular Solar Eclipse on June 21

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s diameter is smaller than the Sun’s, blocking most of the Sun’s light, causing it to look like an annulus (ring). According to reports, the annular eclipse of the Sun will be visible from parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Indonesia and Micronesia. The solar eclipse will start at 09:15 am IST.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on July 5

Another penumbral lunar eclipse is scheduled to take place on July 5, 2020. The July 5 lunar eclipse will be visible from South/West Europe, Much of Africa, Much of North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Antarctica. The penumbral lunar eclipse will occur at 08:37 am IST.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on November 30

The penumbral eclipse of the Moon on November 30 will be this year’s last lunar eclipse. About 83% of the Moon’s disc will be partially shaded by the Earth, which will cause a gentle shadow gradient across its disc at maximum. As per reports, the penumbral lunar eclipse on November will last for 4 hours and 21 minutes. The eclipse will be visible from East Asia, Australia and the United States of America. People in India will be able to view the penumbral lunar eclipse, starting at 13:02 pm, IST.

Total Solar Eclipse on December 14

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s diameter is larger than the Sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, turning the day into darkness. The total solar eclipse will be visible from the southern Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos Islands, and parts of South America, Antarctica, and Africa. The total solar eclipse will occur at 19:03 IST on December 14.

Now that you know the dates and respective time for all the eclipses, brace yourself to enjoy the solar and lunar eclipses of this year. The solar and lunar eclipses also allow scientists to study the celestial occurrences that can help them in breakthrough researches.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2020 11:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).