The year’s third lunar eclipse, after the ones in January and June, will take place on Sunday and will be visible across much of North and South America, Africa and some other parts of the world.

What is a lunar eclipse?

According to NASA, a lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and the moon. When this happens, the earth blocks the sunlight that normally is reflected by the moon. Instead of the light reaching the moon’s surface, the earth’s shadow falls on it.

There are three kinds of lunar eclipses—total, partial and a penumbral eclipse.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the earth’s umbra or the central, dark part of its shadow obscures all of the moon’s surface. A partial lunar eclipse can be seen when only part of the moon’s surface is obscured by earth’s umbra.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon travels through the faint penumbral portion of the earth’s shadow.

Where would people be able to witness the lunar eclipse?

People in much of North America, South America, South/West Europe, much of Africa, Indian Ocean, Pacific, Antarctica and Atlantic will be able to watch it.

However, it will not be visible from India as it is taking place during the day.

When can people watch it?

The penumbral lunar eclipse will start at around 8.37am IST on July 5 and will go on till 11.22am IST. The maximum eclipse will be at 9:59 am IST. It will last for approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes.

How to watch the July 2020 lunar eclipse?

You can watch the penumbral lunar eclipse on popular YouTube channels, including Slooh. Slooh is the official website of Tharulowa Digital, the Sri Lankan astronomy channel. You can also watch it on the website of Virtual Telescope.

If you live in one of the regions where the year’s third lunar eclipse will be visible, you can watch it without any special equipment.

When is the next lunar eclipse?

The fourth and the last penumbral lunar eclipse of this year will take place on November 29.