Eastern Europe is one of the lucky territories of the world, that will witness the totality of today’s lunar eclipse. In Moscow, Russia, the eclipse begins at 21:23 local time, on June 15, 2011 and ends at 01:02 on June 16, with the total phase beginning at 22:22 on June 15, and ending at 00:03 on June 16, 2011.
Other Eastern European countries like Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria will witness the eclipse beginning with 20:23 local time on June 15, and ending at 00:02 on June 16, 2011. Sadly, the first stage of the eclipse in these countries is not visible.
The early stage of the eclipse occurs at moon rise, so most of Eastern Europe will miss this part, but the totality can be observed all throughout the whole continent, except for northern Scotland and northern Scandinavia, - map courtesy NASA.
The eclipse begins at 17:24 UT and ends at 23:00 UT. For those who can only witness the total eclipse, this begins at 19:22 UT and ends at 21:02 UT, with the peak at 20:12 UT.
This total lunar eclipse is the longest lunar eclipse in over a decade. Eastern European observers will need a clear unobstructed view of the moon looking low towards the south-east horizon; the lower to the horizon you can see – the better. If you are lucky to have a clear sky, you will witness the show of a lifetime: the moon will undergo dramatic color changes throughout the eclipse, making this a romantic event, as well as a scientific one.
