CHENNAI: Birla Planetarium was teeming with people as thousands flocked to watch the lunar eclipse on Saturday, visible in the city after two years. The last one was on April 26, 2013.
While rumours were rife that this eclipse was rare as it was the shortest in a decade, P Iyamperumal, clarified to Express that such theories were a result of people's misconception.
"This is just a normal lunar eclipse, which is visible as a partial eclipse from Chennai," he told Express, adding that the total eclipse was visible in South and North America, east Asia and Australia.
However, the excitement peaked by 6.30 pm as people seemed to be swayed by rumours. Poor visibility frustrated them.
"I wasn't aware this one was special till I came here. I couldn't see the moon clearly. There were clouds, and the moon was orange, not red like last time," said Rithanya S who never misses a lunar eclipse.
Many Express spoke to seemed unhappy as the moon was its normal colour except for five minutes from 6.40 to 6.45 pm when it was red.
"I could only see a mix of yellow and orange. I wanted to see a red moon but couldn't," said Sultan Abbas, a Class IX student, even as his family said the red moon lasted a very short time.
Meanwhile, a group of aerospace students who were a part of the Students for Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS), that has ties with the Boston-based MIT, asserted the eclipse was rare and known as tetred - a series of four consecutive total eclipses, all of them occurring within six months. They added that not all lunar eclipses would be visible in Chennai and those visible might not be total.
"Another reason why this is special is it falls after Good Friday. In Christianity, it is believed that once the 'blood moon' rises, Jesus returns," said Karna Vignesh, president, SEDS, Chennai chapter.
The partial phase was seen in Chennai from 3.45 pm to 5.31 pm, after which the longer eclipse was observed till 7.15 pm.
"In Chennai, the blood red moon was supposed to be visible for 12 minutes, but due to clouds it lasted five minutes," Iyamperumal said.
The moon's red colour is a result of the imbalance in the orientation of the sun and earth. Chennai would see the next lunar eclipse on August 7, 2017.
via Science - Google News http://ift.tt/1CrlVQ3
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