World awaits longest 'blood moon' eclipse of century

New Delhi [India], July 27 (ANI): It's the longest lunar eclipse today. The world is waiting to catch a glimpse of the much-talked-about 'blood moon'.
The lunar eclipse, which will be seen across all parts of India, is all set to take place around 11 pm (the night of July 27 local Indian time).
According to a report by CNN, the lunar eclipse will last about an hour and 43 minutes, though the partial eclipse will last for four hours.
At some point, when the moon will move into earth's shadow, the sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere will turn the moon red.
Incidentally, the day is all more special for India as both lunar eclipse and Guru Purnima are falling on the same day.
Celebrated on the full-moon day in the 'Ashadh' month of the Hindu calendar, Guru Purnima is a day dedicated to spiritual teachers.
Since the festival is celebrated by both Hindus and Buddhists, there are no set rituals that are followed during the day.
While some people observe fast to show respect to their gurus, others visit temples to offer prayers and seek blessings. People, who follow living gurus, pray for the long life of their spiritual teachers.
Students, on the other hand, celebrate this festival in schools where they worship their teachers and ask for their blessings.
In one such instance in Vadodara, children celebrated the festival by worshiping their parents and giving them presents.
"We worshiped our parents today because our parents are our first teachers," said a child.
Ironically, according to the Hindu tradition, no religious or auspicious practice is performed at the time of lunar eclipse.
Going by this tradition, many famous temples across the country also remain close for darshan during the period. People performing puja are instructed to do it before or after the eclipse.
People following the Hindu religion are advised to take bath before and after lunar eclipse. They also avoid cooking or consuming food during that period. (ANI)