First lunar eclipse of 2024 to occur today

ISLAMABAD: A penumbral lunar eclipse will occur on Monday (today), the first lunar eclipse of this year. The lunar eclipse will not be visible in Pakistan.

In Penumbral Lunar eclipse, the moon is covered by earth’s lighter or outermost shadow and usually difficult to observe.

The celestial phenomenon will be visible in America, most countries of Europe, from South/East Europe, much of Asia, Australia, Africa, northern and eastern parts of Asia.

According to the Pakistan Standard Time (PST) penumbral lunar eclipse will begin at 09:53 PST. The greatest lunar eclipse will occur at 12:12 PST and penumbral eclipse will end at 14:32 PST on 25th March.

The duration of the first lunar eclipse of Year 2024 will be four hours, 40 minutes.

Previous partial lunar eclipse was occurred last year on Oct 28. The partial lunar eclipse was also visible in Pakistan.

When the earth is between the sun and the moon, it causes Lunar Eclipses by casting a shadow on the moon’s surface. They are an interesting sight to watch because they can only occur during a full moon.

The partial eclipse ends when the moon moves out of the umbra, passing back into the penumbra.

As per the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the Moon becomes 10 percent dimmer than its usual brightness.

The event coincides with Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours, but won’t be visible in India or Pakistan.

As per BBC’s Science Focus magazine, the eclipse will begin the night before, on 24 March 2024, for places six hours or more behind GMT, i.e. further west than Chicago.