Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Sky gazers were in for a celestial delight as they witnessed the first total lunar eclipse of 2015 on Saturday.
The total lunar eclipse took place from 3:45:04 pm to 7:15:2 pm (IST), and was first visible in Kolkata, in the eastern part of India.
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon is entirely immersed in the Earth shadow, and can take on a dusky "blood red" colour due to the scattering of sunlight through the edges of Earth`s atmosphere.
The astronomical event was at its peak at 5:30:30 pm when the Earth's shadow blocked the moon completely.
A magnificent viewing of the event took place in the North East where dusk falls early in India, the superintendent of the two-century-old observatory said.
Sky enthusiasts in western North America witnessed the celestial event for a brief period. Sky watchers in the western United States and Canada must have been able to catch a glimpse of the total eclipse before the moon sets.
The moment when the moon was completely obscured by Earth's shadow lasted only a few minutes, making it the shortest lunar eclipse of the century.
People in eastern Australia, New Zealand and Japan viewed the eclipse at night.
The much anticipated rare celestial event happens to be the third of the 2014-2015 lunar tetrad between April 2014 and September 2015. The first of the four eclipses occurred on April 14-15 2014.
(With Agency inputs)