Lunar Eclipse - Chandira Grahan - Information

What is Lunar eclipse? (Chandira Grahan)

From our perspective on Earth, two types of eclipses occur: lunar, the blocking of the Moon by Earth's shadow, and solar, the obstruction of the Sun by the Moon.

When the Moon passes between Sun and Earth, the lunar shadow is seen as a solar eclipse on Earth. When Earth passes directly between Sun and Moon, its shadow creates a lunar eclipse.

Lunar eclipses can only happen when the Moon is opposite the Sun in the sky, a monthly occurrence we know as a full Moon. But lunar eclipses do not occur every month because the Moon's orbit is tilted five degrees from Earth's orbit around the Sun. Without the tilt, lunar eclipses would occur every month.

Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, you are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse. The full Moon casts its shadow on Earth's surface during a total solar eclipse.

Chandra Grahan, a total lunar eclipse, will be visible in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu from June 15 night to the early hours of June 16, 2011. The time in Chennai is from 11:53 PM on June 15 to 03:32 AM early morning on June 16, 2011 – as per Indian standard time. The Chandra Grahanam will be visible in Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Kannyakumari, Rameshwaram, Pondicherry Srirangam, Dindugal, Pollachi, and other towns. Hindu Panchangams have marked this grahan and therefore those observing certain rituals have to follow them.

 

On account of lunar eclipse on Wednesday (June 15), the ‘Sayatchai kala puja' would be performed at the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and the doors would be closed at 7 p.m., after which there would be no darshan for the public. According to a temple press note, the eclipse would be begin at 11.50 p.m. and ‘grahana kala abhishekam' would be performed at 1.42 a.m. The eclipse would conclude at 3.34 a.m., after which as usual, the ‘Tiruvanandhal puja' would be performed at 5 a.m.