New Delhi: India on early Wednesday witnessed a partial lunar eclipse that is called ardh chandra grahan in Hindi for few hours. The partial lunar eclipse, which is said to be the last of 2019, started at around 1.31 am on July 17 night and will be ending before dawn on Wednesday. The eclipse gradually grew and was at its peak at 3 am and it exactly looked as if a chunk of the Moon has been bitten off. It was around 3 am the eclipse was an easy-to-watch astronomical event.

A lunar eclipse phenomenon occurs when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. This occurs only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned, with Earth between the other two. A lunar eclipse can occur only on the night of a full moon. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit. The eclipse was witnessed in regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America, apart from India.