Partial lunar eclipse to take place on Saturday night
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal along with other parts of India, the whole of Asia, Europe, Africa, and Russia will witness a partial lunar eclipse on Saturday night.
The celestial phenomenon will continue till the early hours of October 29, astrophysicist Debi Prasad Duari said.
People in West Bengal will celebrate Laksmi puja on Saturday night.
"There is going to be a partial lunar eclipse on the night of October 28 which can be experienced by people in India along with the entire Asia, Europe, Africa, and Russia. The eclipse will occur during late night of October 28 and will continue till the early hours of October 29," Duari told PTI.
He said that on October 28, the moon will be partially eclipsed by the shadow of the earth for some time and will give people in India a chance to experience a partial lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse is marked by two stages of the moon coming under the shadow of the earth. When it enters a partially shadowed region of the earth it is known as the penumbral eclipse, when the moon remains partly lighted.
"The change in brightness is not very much noticeable. After this phase moon will partially enter the actual dark part of the earth's shadow which is termed an umbral lunar eclipse and is considered the actual eclipse by most people," he added.
On October 28 night though the penumbral eclipse will start at around 11:31 pm Indian Standard Time (IST), but the partial Umbral eclipse, which is more noticeable, will start in the early hours of October 29, at around 1:05 am IST, he said.
"It will become maximum at around 1:44 am and will end by 2:23 am. The magnitude of the partial lunar eclipse will be around 0.12 marked by the maximum obscuration of the lunar disc," the astrophysicist said.
On October 14 there was an annular solar eclipse which was experienced by the people of mostly North and South America when the ring of fire was observed across a large part of the western hemisphere.
"It occurred when it was night over India and Asia and could not be experienced by people in this region. The day was a New Moon day and marked the beginning of Navratri, celebrated in major parts of India as the beginning of the Durga Puja Festival. In West Bengal and around it was the day of Mahalaya when people offered their prayers to their ancestors ushering in the most celebrated Durga Puja Festival," Duari added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
