Pakistan, world to witness first lunar eclipse of 2020 tonight

KARACHI: The first lunar eclipse of the year 2020 will be witnessed in Pakistan on night between Friday (January 10) and Saturday (January 11).

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the lunar eclipse will be visible in Pakistan and from parts of the world like Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa.

The night between January 10 and 11 will be partially cloudy, it further said.

It will be penumbral lunar eclipse which will be visible in Pakistan as well as in different cities of Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa. It will not be visible in the United States, central Canada and a majority of South America.

The eclipse will begin at 10:08 pm and will become a full eclipse at 10:12pm. The eclipse will come to an end and the moon will emerge from the shadow of the earth at 02:12 in the night.

In total, there will four lunar eclipses through the year and other three will occur on June 5, July 5 and November 30.

A lunar eclipse is a celestial event when the earth blocks sunlight from directly touching the moon’s surface and creates an alignment of the sun, moon, and the earth.

During the eclipse, 90 percent of the moon’s surface will be partially covered by the Earth with only the outer part of the shadow appearing. While penumbral lunar eclipses are usually a little darker, they cannot be easily distinguished from a regular full moon sighting but can be easily seen, as long as the sky is clear.