Assam witnesses year’s last lunar eclipse

Guwahati, Nov 8 (IANS) Assam, like several other parts of the country, also witnessed the year’s last lunar eclipse on Tuesday.

In several institutes of the state, events were organised to observe the phases of the lunar eclipse.

The lunar eclipse began at 2:39 p.m. and the phase of the total eclipse was at 3:36 p.m. However, as the moonrise in Assam was around 4.34 p.m., the eclipse could be seen only after that.

Asoke Sen, a professor of Astrophysics at Assam University in Silchar, told IANS: “The sky was bright initially and we could not see the initial phases of the total lunar eclipse. However, once it was dusk, the eclipse was nicely visible here.”

Another professor of the same institute, Himadri Sekhar Das informed that they organised a camp to show the lunar eclipse to students and other general audiences.

He said: “We could see the phenomenon of the eclipse from 5:10 p.m. The lunar eclipse persisted till 6:19 p.m. and was visible from our campus.”

Nearly 500 people gathered at the camp to witness the total lunar eclipse, Das added.

A few other institutes like Karimganj college also organised a camp to observe the lunar eclipse phenomenon.

Guwahati Planetarium curator Babul Bora informed that towns like Dibrugarh and Jorhat witnessed the eclipse for a longer duration as the moon rose earlier there compared to other towns in the state.

Meanwhile, as a good number of people still believe that eating food during an eclipse can be harmful, Professor Sen said: “There is no scientific evidence behind such superstitions, rather people should enjoy these celestial events without any fear.”

The next total lunar eclipse will be in March 2025, however, Northeast may not have good visibility at that time, according to the experts.

–IANS

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