Total Lunar Eclipse would occur on January 31, 2018. It would be the first Lunar Eclipse of 2018. As it is total eclipse of magnitude 1.32, the Moon will be completely covered by the Earth's Umbral shadow at maximum eclipse. The portion of the moon inside the Umbral shadow will only be illuminated by sunlight refracted through the Earth's atmosphere and having a reddish hue. The longest duration of totality would be 1 Hour, 16 Mins and 4 Secs.
The Lunar Eclipse would be visible from Asia, most of Europe, Australia, North-East Africa, North-West South America, North America, Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, Arctic and Antarctica.
The Total Lunar Eclipse would be visible from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and most countries of Asia continent.
None of the eclipse would be visible from United Kingdom and some western parts of Europe.
New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Seattle, Sydney and Singapore are some popular cities where Total Lunar Eclipse would be visible.
For more information on eclipse visibility please check Plot of Total Lunar Eclipse of January 31, 2018
About Lunar Eclipse Data
If Lunar Eclipse starts before midnight but ends after midnight i.e. it covers two different dates on Gregorian calendar then the chosen Eclipse Day is when maximum of Lunar Eclipse occurs. Hence Penumbral Phase as well as Umbral Phase might start before midnight i.e. on the previous day.
Moonrise and Moonset moments are corrected for Parallax and this correction gives better timings for the Eclipse sighting.
Hinduism and Lunar Eclipse
Unless Lunar Eclipse is visible to the naked eye, it is of no significance to Hindus and Hindus don't consider it for any religious activities. Penumbral Lunar Eclipses are not visible to the naked eye hence no rituals related to Chandra Grahan should be observed. If Lunar Eclipse is visible during Umbral Phase then only it should be considered for religious activities. Most Hindu Calendars don't list Penumbral Eclipses.
If Chandra Grahan is not visible in your city but it is visible some city near to that then you should not observe it. Precautions which are advised during Sutak should be taken only if Chandra Grahan is visible in your city. Chandra Grahan is considered even if the Moon is not visible due to cloudy weather or some other weather conditions.
