Tonight’s lunar eclipse is special; marking Apollo11’s 50th anniversary

Tonight, the world will witness a partial lunar eclipse when the Moon passes through the Southern half of the Earth.

According to the NASA report, the eclipse will be visible in South America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia shall be able to see the event around midnight, that will last till the early morning hours.

North America will miss out on the view except for its most eastern points, like Nantucket, parts of Maine and Nova Scotia.

This eclipse will witness only 60% of the Moon’s surface obscured by the Earth’s shadow. The Moon will enter penumbra after 1:00 am and will be at its peak after 2:30 am.

According to Pakistan Standard Time, the eclipse will start at 11:45 pm and will last till 5:17 am.

During this partial lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow covers only parts of the Moon, as seen from Karachi. There are no other locations on Earth where the Moon appears completely covered during this event.

Lunar eclipses can occur only during a full moon. The moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and Earth on Tuesday, with the moon on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun.

Earth will cast two shadows on the moon during the eclipse. The penumbra is the partial outer shadow, and the umbra is the full, dark shadow.

What makes this lunar eclipse special? Tonight’s partial lunar eclipse marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11, mankind’s first mission to the Moon.

NASA’s Apollo 11 mission was launched on July 16, 1969, and placed the first humans on the Moon four days after its landing.

Tonight’s eclipse will be the last one this year, the following eclipse is likely to take place in January next year.