Following the June 1 partial solar eclipse, the total lunar eclipse occurring on June 15, 2011 should be an excellent eclipse for most of the world except North America. No portions of the eclipse will be visible from North America or extreme northern Europe or Asia.
The best places to observe this total lunar eclipse will be the Indian Ocean and subcontinent, Eastern Africa, extreme western Australia, and the Mideast. For observers in China, southeastern parts of Asia, and most of Australia, the Moon will set while the eclipse is in progress. Hence these observers will be able to observe the early parts of the eclipse. The Moon will rise while the eclipse is in progress for observers in western Africa, Europe, and most of South America. These observers will be able to see at least the late stages of the eclipse.
According to the Astronomical Almanac, the greatest eclipse will be at 20:13 coordinated universal time (UTC) with the Moon directly over the southern Indian Ocean. (This link gives a table of conversions from UTC to various international time zones.) Eclipse totality will begin at 19:22 UTC and end at 21:03 UTC. For observers able to watch the entire eclipse, totality will last about an hour and forty minutes. The easily visible partial umbral phases of the eclipse will begin and end at 18:23 and 22:03 UTC.
The next eclipse this year will be a nearly impossible to observe solar eclipse on July 1. Only a small portion of the Sun's surface will be eclipsed, and the eclipse will only be visible from a small portion of Antarctica and the ocean just north of Antarctica.
There will be another partial solar eclipse visible primarily in the Antarctic on November 25, 2011. The final eclipse of 2011 will be a total lunar eclipse on December 10, 2011. Parts of the December lunar eclipse will be visible from western North America.
CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS FROM WIKIPEDIA
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