Five planets falling into line, transit of Venus across the solar disc, and now “the first and only” total lunar eclipse of the year. It’s all happening up there, this year.

On the night of May 4 — or the first few hours of May 5, to be precise — Calcuttans will be able to catch the only lunar eclipse of the year to be visible from this part of the world.

The eclipse starts at 12.18 am and lasts until 3.42 am, on May 5. The total eclipse lasts for around an hour and 16 minutes, starting at 1.22 am and ending at 2.38 am. The greatest eclipse will occur exactly at 2 am. The moon enters the penumbra at 11.20 pm on May 4 and leaves it at 4.39 am on May 5.

The celestial phenomenon will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Most of South America will only be able to see the last stages, since it will occur during moonrise there. The moon will be setting in eastern Asia and Australia during various stages of the eclipse. The whole of North America will have to give the eclipse a complete miss this time, according to the MP Birla Planetarium, the city observatory.

The “unearthly” hour in India may cause a bit of a problem for stargazers. MP Birla Planetarium, which otherwise arranges for public viewing of eclipses, does not have plans lined up this time. If the cloudless skies of the past few days is anything to go by, amateur astronomers should not have any difficulty in viewing the eclipse — the sixth so far this century.

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch, affirm MP Birla Planetarium officials. Protective filters or even telescopes are not required. A pair of binoculars, though, would help magnify the view and make the red colouration brighter and easier to spot.

The next total lunar eclipse, set to occur on October 28, will not be visible in India, since it will clash with moonset for observers throughout much of Asia and Africa.