(UTV | COLOMBO)- The second penumbral lunar eclipse of 2020 will begin on Friday at 11:15pm.
The Director of Astronomy and Space Science Unit, Department of Physics, Colombo University Prof. Chandana Jayaratne said a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth falls on the moon.
He said the penumbral lunar eclipse is called ‘Strawberry Moon Eclipse’.
Lunar eclipses occur on full moon days when the earth comes between the sun and the moon, which results in obstructing some or all of the sun’s light from reaching the moon.
The penumbral lunar eclipse will occur around midnight between Friday and Saturday with the moon entering the penumbra of the earth’s shadow and will end at 2:34am on Saturday.
The greatest eclipse will take place fifty-four minutes after midnight on the 6th. A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the sun, earth, and the moon are imperfectly aligned.
Prof. Jayaratne said the eclipse will be visible to countries in much of Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and Antarctica.
The annular solar eclipse on the 21st of June will be clearly visible to Sri Lanka as a partial solar eclipse from 10:29am to 1:19pm.