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The longest "blood moon" eclipse of this century has dazzled skygazers around the world, coinciding with the closest approach to Mars in 15 years in a pulsating celestial show
Beside from Lake Magadi, 100 kilometers southwest of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, young members of the Maasai community watched the eclipse through a high-powered telescope provided by a local couple. [19659002"UntiltodayHuijepensaisqueMarsJupiterandtheotherplanetswereintheimaginationofcientists"saidPuritySailepo16anstoAFP
"But now I have seen it, I can believe it and I want to be unlike d & # 39; a solar eclipse, the spectators did not need goggles to observe the rare exposure.
For about half of the world, the moon was partially or totally in the shadow of the Land from 1714 to 2328 G MT – six hours and 14 minutes in total.
The complete eclipse period – known as the "totality", when the moon seems the darkest, lasted from 1930 to 9:13 pm GMT
The moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye
Southern Hemisphere amateur astronomers were in the best position to witness this rare sight, especially in southern Africa, Australia and Madagascar, but also in europe,
More than 2,000 people, including many children armed with binoculars, gathered in the Tunisian capital of Tunis
"I hope this eclipse will bring us happiness and peace," he said. said Karima, 46, without taking
However, bad weather thwarted cosmic exposure in many parts of the world.
Monsoon storms and thick clouds hid the moon through much of India and its neighbors, who should have had a view.
Similar Enthusiastic observers who had gathered on the cliffs and beaches of the English county of Dorset were left in the dark because of a cloudy sky. "It's disappointing," said 67-year-old AFP Tish Adams. "I took some pictures but there was nothing but a trail of pink in the sky." Those who gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were luckier, slamming the red moon into the clear skies with their phones and cameras
"I thought it was very pretty and I was not happy. loved even more the planet Mars, that we could see right next to the moon, "says Talita Oliveira, 34 years old.
Mars was unusually large and bright, barely 57.7 million miles (miles) from Earth in its elliptical orbit around the sun.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth takes a position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, erasing the direct sunlight that normally makes the satellite yellowish-white. 19659002] The moon moves to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means that it normally pbades above or below the Earth's shadow – so the most months, we have a full moon without eclipse. perfectly aligned, however the atmosphere of the Earth diffuses the blue light of the sun while refracting or bending the red light on the moon, usually giving it a pinkish blush.
This is what gives the name "Blood Moon" to Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory. in Northern Ireland, the color may vary considerably.
It depends in part on the transparency or transparency of parts of the Earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight to reach the moon, "he told AFP. eclipse the moon can be almost invisible. "The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a pbad near the center of the Earth's shadow – the darkest and most central part of l & # 39; shadow.
was also at the furthest point from Earth's orbit, making its movement across the sky slower from our point of view, thus spending more time in the dark.
NASA called the social media badies to claim that Mars as the moon during the eclipse.
"If that were true, we would be in great trouble considering the gravitational effects on Earth, Mars and our moon!" Said the NASA website
. "In the midst of a lunar eclipse, one may have the impression that a red planet has taken up residence near Earth – they are both strange and beautiful," said Robert Mbadey of the Royal Astronomical Society of London.
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