NEW DELHI - Celestial gazers, rejoice! India will Wednesday evening witness what is being claimed as the longest and darkest lunar eclipse of this century with an expected duration of 100 minutes.

FILE - This five picture combination shows various stages of a total lunar eclipse over Baghdad, Iraq, between 1:30-2:30 am local time on March 4, 2007. [Photo/Agencies]

"The total phase of this lunar eclipse will last 100 minutes. The last eclipse to exceed this duration was in July 2000. The next such eclipse will only take place in 2141," Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium's Director N Rathnasree told the media in the national capital.

During the eclipse, the moon will pass deeply through the Earth's umbral shadow and it will slowly assume a coppery red color, making it a not to be missed spectacle. The total lunar eclipse will begin at 00:52:30 local time and end at 02:32:42.

The previous darkest lunar eclipse took place four decades back, on Aug 6, 1971.

"It is a relatively rare central eclipse where the moon passes in front of the center of the Earth's shadow," said Mila Mitra, a scientific officer at the Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators.