Longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440 starts to take place
The first phases of the eclipse will be visible in northern and western Europe and the westernmost parts of Africa, as the moon sets below the horizon on the morning of Friday.
The eclipse will occur towards a micromoon. This will be the longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440, and the longest until 2669; however, many eclipses, including the upcoming November 2022 lunar eclipse will have a longer period of umbral contact at next to 3 hours 40 minutes.
This eclipse has a long partial phase primarily because it is entirely partial. Any total eclipse includes a period of more than 97% partiality like the maximum eclipse point of this one. Unlike a total solar eclipse, extended duration is not sought after by observers.
In northern and western Europe and the westernmost parts of Africa, the first phases of the eclipse will be visible, as the moon sets below the horizon on the morning of Friday, 19 November 2021. The fullest extent of the lunar eclipse will be visible over North and South America after midnight on Friday, with the event beginning in the latest hours of Thursday night over parts of Alaska and Hawaii. The entirety of the eclipse, from one side of the Earth's shadow to the other, will occur with the moon visible above the horizon in nearly all of North America.
In the Eastern Hemisphere, as the partially-eclipsed moon begins to rise at dusk, the eclipse will become visible across the Pacific Ocean, Australia, and much of Asia. At places in extreme northern latitudes and areas in northern and eastern Russia, such as Kamchatka, the moon will already be visible by the time the eclipse begins on Friday.
There will be little or no visibility for most of Africa, eastern Europe, and western or southern parts of Asia, including the Middle East and much of the Indian subcontinent. (ILKHA)