Chandra Grahan (Lunar Eclipse) on August 6, 2009

A penumbral lunar eclipse (upchhai chandra graham) will occur on August 6, 2009. The eclipse will last for about three hours. The August 6 grahan will not be visible to the naked eye as its magnitude is only 0.402, according to NASA. As the magnitude of this chandra grahan is so low, there will not be any significant astrological impact. This chandra grahan should be ignored for all religious or astrological purposes.

Next major lunar eclipse will be on New Year’s eve 31st December 2009 full moon day or bright half of Hindu Paush month (Hindu Paush month, shukla paksha, Poornima). This eclipse will be on Ardra Nakshatra and Mithun Rashi (Gemini sign). This chandra grahan will be visible in through-out India. According to Indian standard time, entry time of the eclipse will be 24:22 (night 00:22 AM), max will be 24:53 (night 00:53 AM), and end will be 25:24 (night 01:24 AM). The total time of the eclipse will be approx. 1 hour 3 minutes.

As a partial lunar eclipse, this will also be visible in parts of Russia, China, Mangolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Britain, and quite a few other European and Gulf countries.

Three Eclipses in a Row - Good or Bad?

Whenever there is an eclipse astrologers find some method to term it as rare as well as disastrous. Upcoming three eclipses are no exceptions. We are hearing all sort of scaring predictions and prophesies for the upcoming eclipses. TRP hungry and ignorant electronic media due worsening the whole scene by showing all sort of different stories.

One article on Rediff says, "The world will witness a rare astronomical event- a series of triple eclipses starting July 2009. The fist in the series of triple eclipses will be a lunar eclipse on July 7 which will be followed by a solar eclipse on July 22 and then a lunar eclipse on August 6." The same article quotes D K Hari and his wife Hema Hari mentioning events like Kurukshethra war, destruction of city of Dwaraka, World War I, and World War II - all were followed by triple eclipses.

The first eclipse will occur on July 7, 2009, which will be visible in Australia, the Pacific and Americas. The solar eclipse on July 22, 2009 will be visible in India, Nepal, China and Central Pacific and the lunar eclipse on August 6, 2009 will be visible in America, Europe, Africa and West Asia.

Eclipses are very significant in astrology especially Mundane astrology (branch of astrology used to predict world affairs and world events, as opposed to individual's events). Generally eclipses give indications of bad happenings and that is the reason astrologers haste in predicting mishaps and destructions. For the present eclipses, we must note some very important point before we reach to any conclusion. Firstly, both the lunar eclipses on 7th July as well as 6th August are Penumbral which means partial and not fully darkening the Moon's light. Penumbral Lunar Eclipse is not regarded as eclipse for astrological as well as religious purpose, so should not be used for any astrological predictions. Any astrologer making lunar eclipses of this year as a basis of his astrological predictions is making a mistake. Also the magnitudes of Lunar eclipses are so less that it is almost insignificant even for astronomical purposes.

What will be the impact on me?
Nothing measurable. Firstly, the magnitude of lunar eclipses are insignificant. Secondly, eclipses makes noticeable impact on nations and not on individual. I'll write more about only significant eclipse on July 22nd, 2009 here so don't forget to subscribe.

Will I have to follow religious daily routine (din-charya) prescribed for eclipse?
For Lunar eclipse, No. For Solar eclipse on 22nd July, Yes. You can know more about the daily routine needs to be followed on the day of eclipse here.

Related Articles
1. Solar Eclipse on 22 July 2009 - India and World Forecasts
2. PDF of NASA's graphic illustration of visibility of Lunar Eclipse on 7th July
3. When is the Next Solar Eclipse
4. Solar Eclipse (Surya Grahan) Calculator & Daily Routine
5. Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan) Calculator
6. My articles on Mundane Astrology

Astrologers on Rakhi (Rakshabandhan) Muhurta

I recently read one article on Internet that suggests that the sisters should tie Rakhi on brothers' hand before 11 am on the day of Rakshabandan. The suggested reason is that the Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan) is coinciding with Rakshabandhan this year. Grahan is not considered good for any auspicious event. The Lunar eclipse is starting from 11.53 pm and will end at 5.27am next day for the city that the article had been published. The article states though the eclipse is starting late night, no auspicious task should be taken 12 hours before and after it. Article further states that the condition is worsening as the eclipse coincides with the season of kalsarpa dosha which is a time for disasters.

In my opinion, this is another example of how astrologers unnecessary create panic and confusion in public's mind without talking anything specific. The eclipse, as mentioned, starts almost late night and defining it precisely 12 hours doesn't make any sense to me. Will the eclipse will suddenly start showing effects from one minute after 11am? In my opinion, if 11am is safe so does 12noon.

Also the point that it is coinciding with Kalsarpa dosha is ridiculous. Kalsarpa dosha in itself is not accepted by all astrologers and it is a topic of debate among astrologer community. There is no evidence of existence of this dosha in any of our classical texts. This is a known secret in astrologers fraternity that Kalsarpa doshs is a tool for scaring people and making more money by prescribing shanti and parihar. Kalsarpa dosha is a topic for another post but my suggestion is not to worry and continue your schedule without any fear and worry for eclipse or kalsarpa dosha. If you want so, though, you can follow the dincharya (daily routine) suggested for eclipse.

Related Posts:
1. Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan) Calculator
2. Solar Eclipse (Surya Grahan) Calculator

Lunar Eclipse (Chandra Grahan) Calculator

Today we passed the date of Surya Grahan, and now we are close to the date of Chandra Grahan that will be seen on 16th August 2008.

The eclipse timings for Delhi is as follows -

Partial Eclipse begins: 07:13 AM IST
Total Eclipse begins: 08:31 AM IST
Mid Eclipse: 08:56 AM IST
Total Eclipse ends: 09:21 AM IST
Partial Eclipse ends: 10:39 AM IST

You can also check the eclipse timings for your city at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-index.html. This is a nice free utility given by NASA which can calculate Lunar Eclipse timings accurately.

Related Posts:
1. Solar Eclipse (Surya Grahan) Calculator