Total lunar eclipse on 8 Nov: When and where to watch it in India

Hyderabad: The last eclipse of 2022 and the first lunar eclipse to be visible this year in India will occur on 8 November. The total lunar eclipse, however, will be visible only partially in most of India while a few places will witness the totality at the end of the totality phase. Across the world, this eclipse will be visible in the region covering South America, North America, Australia, Asia, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

There are four eclipses in 2022 of which only two (25 October and 8 November) are visible in India. The last lunar eclipse visible in India occurred on 19 November 2021 which was the longest partial lunar eclipse in 580 years. The next eclipse visible from India is a partial lunar eclipse on the night of 28 and 29 October 2023.

When can you see the eclipse in India?

On 8 November, the eclipse in various phases will begin at 1.30 p.m (IST) and end at 7.28 p.m. However, the noticeable umbral phase will begin at 2.39 p.m and end at 6.19 p.m. In other words, the eclipse will begin at 1.30 p.m with the Moon entering the lighter shadow of the Earth. People can noticeably witness the darkening or leaving of the Moon's disk by Earth's shadow between 2.39 p.m and 6.19 p.m on 8 November.

The totality phase, when the Moon's disk is completely immersed in the dark shadow of the Earth, will start at 3.46 p.m and end at 5.12 p.m.

Which places in India will see the full eclipse?

In India Agartala, Aizawl, Bhagalpur, Bhubaneswar, Cooch Behar, Cuttack, Darjeeling, Dibrugarh, Gangtok, Guwahati, Gaya, Hazaribagh, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Kolkata, Midnapore, Murshidabad, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Port Blair, Puri, Ranchi, Shillong, Sibsagar, Silchar, Siliguri, Tamelong, Varanasi, and Chittagong will witness the full eclipse.

The rest of the country will witness a partial eclipse.

First & last places to see the eclipse

People in the eastern or north-eastern parts of India like Dibrugarh will be the first to see the eclipse on 8 November starting 4.17 p.m. They will see the Moon completely immersed in the dark shadow of the Earth as the totality phase starts at 3.46 p.m. People in Itanagar and Kohima will see the eclipse from 4.24 p.m.

People in the northernmost parts of India like Ladakh will see the eclipse from 5.17 p.m. People in the central part of India like Bhopal will start seeing the eclipse from 5.36 p.m.

People in southernmost part of India, i.e., Kanyakumari, will witness the eclipse from 5.57 p.m. In Kavaratti (Lakshadweep), the eclipse will be visible from 6.11 p.m. People in the western-most parts of India like Dwaraka will be the last to witness the eclipse from 6.12 p.m. for just 7 minutes before the end of the umbral phase at 6.19 p.m. Here, people will see a very small part of the Moon eclipsed. This means the duration of the eclipse and the percentage of the Moon disk eclipsed would differ as we move from east or north towards the western and southern parts of India depending on the rising time of the moon.

Eclipse for the Telugu states

People in Hyderabad can see the eclipse from 5.40 p.m. in Telangana, whereas people in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh will start seeing the eclipse at 5.33 p.m. People in Rajahmundry will see the eclipse from 5.25 p.m.

It's important to note that people in the north and north-eastern parts of both states will be the first to witness the eclipse compared to those on the western or southern parts. The duration and percentage of the lunar eclipse visible will be based on the rising time of the Moon in their location.

As the totality phase will be over at 5.12 p.m. before the Moon rises in the Telugu states, people here will miss the totality and will see only a portion of the Moon's disk eclipsed under the dark shadow of the Earth.