Dear ASI Members,
We hope you are all looking forward with excitement to see the total lunar eclipse on Sunday night, the 7th of September. The last time all of India was able to witness a total lunar eclipse was in 2018, and the next time will be in 2028. Hopefully, despite the cloudy skies across much of the country during this time of the year, many of us will get a glimpse of this beautiful celestial spectacle. Here are a few things we wanted to share from the Public Outreach and Education Committee (POEC) in this context:
1. The POEC has created a webpage - https://astron-soc.in/outreach/activities/total-lunar-eclipse-2025/ - to provide consolidated information about the eclipse, when and where to look at it, along with some other useful resources. This webpage includes an online interactive map of all public eclipse events being organised in India. Some posters about the eclipse are also available. One of poster giving some basic information about the eclipse, designed by the Platform of Astronomy Communicators of Karnataka (PACK), is attached. Please share this information, including the webpage, widely.
2. If you are organising a public viewing, but have not yet filled in the Google form circulated by the POEC to share this information, you can still do it here at - Link . We plan to update our webpage at least once a day till the eclipse.
3. The POEC eclipse webpage also includes links to video live streams of the eclipse being organised by IIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH8HHdlhJ2c (from Hanle, Kodaikanal and Bengaluru); ARIES https://www.youtube.com/@AriesNainitalUttarakhand/live (from Nainital); and Jyotirvidya Parisanstha https://youtube.com/@jyotirvidyaparisanstha/live (from Pune). These links are also on the webpage. If anyone else is planning an eclipse live stream, please email asi.poec@gmail.com.
4. We appeal to all of you to talk to your family, friends, and neighbours about this rare celestial spectacle, and invite them to see the eclipse with their own eyes on Sunday. We all know that eclipses cause no ill effects on humans or animals, and it is safe to go outside, eat, and drink during the eclipse. However, prevalent beliefs regarding such superstitions need to be countered with science based arguments to promote scientific temper and rationality, and we invite all of you to join us in this endeavour.
Wishing everyone clear skies,
ASI POEC