Total lunar eclipse to occur on April 4

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute said a total lunar eclipse will occur on April 4. This day at 6 p.m., moon will pass through the earth`s penumbra shadow and the penumbral eclipse of the sun will begin. However, lunar eclipse will not be viewable in Korea since moon will not have risen yet.

Lunar eclipse will start to proceed at 7:15 p.m. as the moon dips through part of the earth`s shadow in a partial lunar eclipse. For 12 minutes from 8:54 to 9:06, there will be a total lunar eclipse.

During total lunar eclipse, moon doesn`t disappear despite completely being shadowed by earth, and thus a dim but red moon can be observed. This is because the remaining red sunlight will not be dispersed while passing through the earth`s atmosphere is reflected from the moon.

When total lunar eclipse ends, partial eclipse follows until 10:45 p.m. and the overall lunar eclipse ends at 00:01. The next lunar eclipse will occur in January 2018, and people who failed to view it will have to wait for another three years.

vamie@donga.com