Longest and darkest total lunar eclipse of century today

The longest and darkest total lunar eclipse of the century will occur tomorrow, giving sky enthusiasts all over the country an opportunity to witness the event.

An unusually long lunar eclipse with the Moon immersed deeply inside the umbral (darker) shadow of the Earth will occur tomorrow, Nehru Planetarium Director N Rathnasree said.

"The total phase of this lunar eclipse will last 100 minutes. The last eclipse to exceed this duration was in July 2000," she said.

The next such eclipse will only take place in 2141.

The total lunar eclipse will begin at 00:52:30 IST and end at 02:32:42 IST. While the partial eclipse will begin at 23:52:56 IST and end at 03:32:15 IST.

The eclipse will be visible completely in Africa and Central Asia. It will be visible rising over South America, Western Africa and Europe, and seen setting over Eastern Asia, and Australia, C B Devgun from Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) said.

The magnitude of the one of the relatively rare total lunar eclipse will be 1.70 magnitude, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said.

The next lunar eclipse to be viewed in India will be in December this year.

Also, a star named 51 Ophiuchi will be occulted during the eclipse.

Sky enthusiasts can witness the whole sequence of the occultation in the zodiacal constellation of Ophiuchus.
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US soldiers in Afghanistan mark Memorial Day

Nearly a decade later, after more than 1,400 killed in combat, some U.S. troops paused for a moment Sunday to remember what brought America to Afghanistan and to honor the lives that continue to be lost.

Black Hawk helicopters churned through the night sky as a strong wind coming over Kabul's surrounding mountains blew against the flickering candles that cast an orange glow on those gathered for the ceremony at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' headquarters.

Earlier in the day, those working there enjoyed one of their five days off a year from building police stations, dams and other projects in a nation torn by decades of war. Col. Thomas Magness, 47, of Los Angeles, California urged the more than 100 corps employees and U.S. troops gathered there to remember the meaning of Memorial Day — advice that could carry home to America.

"While we were playing volleyball today, no doubt some soldier gave the ultimate sacrifice," the corps commander said.

Memorial Day, instituted to honor America's war dead, will be observed Monday with a public holiday. This Memorial Day comes before the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, which ultimately brought U.S. troops into Afghanistan to unseat the Taliban government and hunt terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

"Our country got attacked, and we're here to fight the war on it," said Roger Nowicki of the corps.

While Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden earlier this month in neighboring Pakistan, the U.S.-led war here continues. President Barack Obama plans to draw down U.S. troops beginning in July, while NATO has committed to handing over control of security in the country to Afghans by 2014.

In the meantime, the war grinds on toward its 10th year. The sharp pangs of loss are visible on some attending the event, like Maj. Erica Iverson, 33, of Vermillion, South Dakota. She spoke of serving as a casualty assistance officer after the 2010 death of Staff Sgt. Adam Dickmyer of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who once served as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

Iverson's voice choked as she recounted how Dickmyer's mother fell off her chair in grief when her son's body returned to the U.S. His widow chased after the casket, screaming: "Don't leave me!"
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Culture remains India's best bet in Nepal

In the winter of 2008, when former Indian president A P J Abdul Kalam visited Nepal to address the convocation of privately run Kathmandu University in Kavre district, it was hailed as a matter of pride for Nepal. And this year, when Nepal's President, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, attended the convocation of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, where he himself had been a student in the 1980s, it generated a fresh feeling of warmth and closeness between the two neighbouring countries.

Though diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu were established in 1947 after Indian achieved independence, more than six decades later, it is still the socio-cultural factor that brings the two nations close, bridging the divide arising due to politics.

This has been proved once again this week after Shyam Banagel flew to Kathmandu Thursday to formally inaugurate the Nepali alumni association of Film and Television Institute of India, in a year India is celebrating the 50th year of the pioneering institute. GraFTii Nepal, the Nepal chapter of graduates of FTII, has nearly 40 members, the oldest among them going back to 1966. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award recipient is addressing a three-day workshop on cinema from friday as well as attending the screening of his 2008 comedy, Welcome to Sajjanpur, on Friday. The programme is supported by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the B P Koirala India-Nepal Foundation.

Earlier this month, Nepal unreservedly welcomed another Indian visitor: film director Goutam Ghose whose "Moner Manush" won the Golden Peacock at the 41st International Indian Film Festival in Goa last year. At a mini film festival hosted by the Indian Cultural Centre and screening three of Ghose's films – Paar, Yatra and Moner Manush – cinemagoers, who included leading authors, journalists and actors, including Manisha Koirala, watched spell-bound, ignoring distractions like technical disruptions.

"This summer, India is also paying a tribute to Nepali and Nepali-origin maestros in film city Mumbai. Upcoming Nepali documentary maker Shekher Kharel's film, Rainbow over Mumbai", acknowledges the journey of seven Nepalis from struggle to success in various genres. They include glden-voiced singer Udit Narain Jha, saxophone player Manohari Singh who became the acclaimed arranger of music director R D Burman, artist Laxman Shrestha and Koirala herself.
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