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Whether you're struggling to pack your bags or have a beer in your local outdoor café, take a moment on Friday night to raise your head. The longest "blood moon" of this century will be closely followed by Mars across the sky in a double heavenly treat of a kind that will not be repeated for decades.
The moon will rise from the horizon tinged with a red it is totally eclipsed by the Earth. About half an hour later, Mars will rise to the same place, brighter than usual because, in an astronomical coincidence, it is closer to us than at any other time in the last 15 years.
Amy Simon, a scientist from NASA will comment on the storms. March on March, said: "It gives people a chance to go out and get up and remember that there are other things out there that people often forget while they run from house to house. "
Mars will be visible to the naked eye (though binoculars might add to the occasion), with the moon rising at 20:50 in London. The total lunar eclipse is one of the 85 of this century, but that of tonight will be the longest, one hour and 43 minutes.
"The two red objects in the sky will be a spectacular combination," said Professor Andrew Coates. Mullard Space Science Laboratory London
It all depends on the weather, astronomers hope clear conditions without much fog, which could obscure the moon and Mars until they rise higher in the sky.
Skywatchers are advised to choose a location with a clear horizon on the southeast to maximize their listening time.
In a lunar eclipse, the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are almost exactly aligned, with the Earth in the middle. The moon moves to a similar position every month at full moon, but the inclination of the lunar orbit means that it normally pbades above or below the Earth's shadow and that no eclipse takes place.
The full moon moves in the Earth 's shadow on Friday night before it rises, making it appear dimly lit by the sun that has filtered through the Earth' s atmosphere [19659002] The atmosphere diffuse more strongly the blue light, the light that reaches the lunar surface is mainly red. Color. This is the same reason that sunsets appear in pink or red.
Some are not impressed by the biblical nickname of tonight's event. "People still call it" blood moon. "It's a lunar eclipse," said Helen Klus of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Klus said that she was frustrated because many people do not know what causes the "blood moon", or that the phenomenon was not astronomically mysterious. "It's something we've already heard about," she said
In the UK, the total phase of the eclipse will end at 10:13 pm and the eclipse will be will finish completely at 12:30 Saturday.
Mars will appear brighter in the sky than the moon, separated by only five degrees – about the width of three fingers held at arm's length.
"You can not miss Mars now in the sky right now – it's a bright red sparkling gem," says Simon,
Mars is approaching what astronomers call opposition, when the Earth surpbades our neighboring planet in its inner path around the sun.However, the orbit of Mars is more elliptical than that of the Earth, which means that we sometimes pbad closer than the others.
When the planet will reach its closest point to the Earth on July 30, it will be 57.6m km.The next time this record will be broken is in 2287.
Despite being bigger and brighter than d & # 39; Usually, Mars will also appear more blurred because of seasonal dust storms that are triggered when the planet warms up when it gets closer to the Sun.
NASA astronomers take advantage of the opportunity to take detailed observations of Mars and his t global fights and should release new images on Friday.
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