Super blue blood moon: Rare astronomical sight to occur today evening
This will be the third in a series of 'supermoons'
Pushkar city of Rajasthan will witness the last and the biggest lunar eclipse today.
A total lunar eclipse will coincide with a blue moon (which will also be a supermoon) for the first time in 150 years.
A supermoon occurs when the moon is at or near the closest point in its Earth's orbit. It, therefore, appears about 11%-14% larger and 30% brighter than a regular full moon.
Tonight's sight becomes extra special as the 'bigger', 'brighter' supermoon will be a blue moon (the second full moon of the month).
This celestial event will be taking place after 150 years, the last celestial event took place in 1866, making it a once in a lifetime opportunity. (WION)
The celestial event gets it name because of the way the light gets filtered through the atmosphere during an eclipse.
Blue light is bounced away from the moon reflecting red instead. The eclipsed moon looks red in colour giving it the name -- blood moon.
Apart from India, the rare sight will be sighted in countries like Russia, Australia, China, and Thailand.
The eclipse is estimated to last for over three hours stretching to close to 77 minutes. Although in India the eclipse will start at around 5.18pm IST, it will take effect at 6.21pm and will remain until 7.37pm.