Illustrative photo.

Star-gazers in Vietnam will be able to observe the full five hours of a partial lunar eclipse early next week.

The phenomenon will be visible with the bare eye across the entire country, as well as most parts of South and East Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

People in Vietnam can watch all phases of the eclipse from 10:50 p.m. on Monday to 3:50 a.m. the next morning, according to a source from the Vietnam Amateur Club of Astronomy.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the sun and moon but they do not form a perfectly straight line in space. Part of the moon’s surface is then covered by the darkest, the central part of the Earth’s shadow, called the umbra.

It can occur only on the night of a full moon.

A lunar eclipse occurs about two weeks before or after a solar eclipse, which this time will take place on August 21. It has been dubbed the Great American Eclipse as it will be visible to most people in North America for the first time in 38 years.

Source: VnExpress