By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: A Penumbral Lunar Eclipse will be occurred on May 05-06 night this year, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has announced.
In Penumbral Lunar eclipse, the moon is covered by Earth’s lighter or outermost shadow and usually difficult to observe.
Apart from Pakistan, the celestial phenomenon will be visible from South/East Europe, much of Asia, Australia, Africa, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Antarctica, according to the PMD statement.
According to the Pakistan Standard Time (PST) penumbral lunar eclipse will begin at 20:14 PST on 05th May. The greatest lunar eclipse will occur at 22:23 PST on 05th May and penumbral eclipse will end at 00:32 PST on 06th May.
A total lunar eclipse last year was sighted on 08th November 2022 in various parts of the world. The alignment of the Sun, Earth and the Moon creates a total lunar eclipse.
It is to be mentioned here that a rare hybrid solar eclipse was sighted on Thursday, April 20 this year in various parts of the world.
However, the celestial spectacle was not visible in Pakistan. It was visible at parts of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, East Timor, Western Australia, and eastern Indonesia.
Hybrid solar eclipses are a rarity with just a few occurring in a century.
According to reports, the total duration of the solar eclipse was five hours and 24 minutes, providing ample time to catch a glimpse of the shadow of the moon as it moves across the sun.
During the event, there was a transition from a total to an annular solar eclipse, resulting in some areas seeing the moon completely obscure the sun, while others witnessed a ring of light around the shadow’s edge.
