Udaipurites witnessed the second lunar eclipse of the year today on 10^th December for 51 long minutes. The total eclipse of the moon started at 6:16 pm and was visible till 9:48 pm in Udaipur and other parts of the country.

In the same year on 15^th June also a lunar eclipse was observed but it could not be seen clearly as the sky was overcast in the monsoon season.

Asia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand are other places where this lunar eclipse was seen but South America or Antarctica did not witness it.

For ancient people, eclipses were incomprehensive and frightening and there are many old superstitious thoughts related to these eclipses that say these eclipses affect our lives and surroundings.

Even today, various social and religious beliefs are attached with eclipses which are still followed by many people.

According to B.P.Upadhyaya, an amateur astrologer from the lake city, “In ancient times these rituals had some importance as people used to rely for water on wells, lakes, etc. that are directly exposed to these rays and even the houses were made of mud but in present times there is no scientific ground for all these beliefs.”

Talking about the impact of the eclipse he added, “This eclipse will bring floods and seasonal diseases. It will have good effect on a few Zodiac signs including Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius and Pisces while for others it is expected to bring problems.”

But amidst these myths and predictions people especially children were seen enjoying this rare appearance of moon.

Under the guidance of  S.N. Jafri, Director of Vigyan Bhawan,a telescope was set on the roof to study the changes in the color of the rays emitted by the sun during the phase of eclipse.

A lunar eclipse occurs only on a full moon night when the sun, the moon and the earth are all in one straight line and the shadow of the earth falls on the moon making it appear dark.

According to web sources, earth’s shadow is divided into 2 parts, the umbra and penumbra (names given to two distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source). When only a part of moon passes through umbra, partial lunar eclipse is marked but when moon completely enters the umbra, total lunar eclipse is observed.

Today, because the moon passed through the center of the earth’s shadow it was completely dark but generally when total lunar eclipse takes place moon still shines with a touch of red and copper color as the sunlight passes through the earth and falls on the surface of moon.

Inputs by Poonam Arora, photos by Sayeed Ahmed