Moon and Mars perform Friday



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The show will be in the air on Friday, with the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century that will make our satellite blush while Mars, almost closer to Earth, will shine particularly brightly.

" It is a conjunction of phenomena rare and interesting ", says Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Institute of celestial mechanics and calculation of ephemeris (IMCCE ) in the Paris-PSL Observatory

" The Moon should take a reddish hue, a little coppery and Mars, nicknamed the 'red planet', will be next, very bright, with a hue slightly orange ", he adds

The show can be discovered with the naked eye without any danger. Binoculars, glbades and telescopes will allow you to enjoy even more.

The eclipse will be visible, partially or totally, in only half of the world. It can be observed from Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia.

But it is East Africa, the Middle East and India that will be the best for enjoy the show.

For a lunar eclipse to occur, there must be an almost perfect alignment of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon .

Our planet, lying between our star and the Moon, then projects its shadow on its natural satellite.

On Friday, the Moon, which will be full, will gradually return in the dim light, then in the shadow to be completely in the shadow, before gradually emerging.

The complete phenomenon (including the penumbra phase, imperceptible to the naked eye) will begin at 17:14 GMT (7:14 pm Paris time) and will end at 23:28 GMT (01:28 Paris time).

The show will start really at 1824 GMT (20H24 French time), the Moon giving the impression of being nibbled by the shadow. [19659003] The most captivating moment of the eclipse, when the Moon will be completely in the shadow cone projected by the Earth, will start at 7:30 pm GM T (9:30 pm French time) and will end at 21:13 GMT (1965) This phase called " totality " will last 1 hour 43 minutes (103 minutes), which will make it the longest lunar eclipse of the twenty-first century .

" Mini Moon "

"This is a replica of the eclipse of July 16, 2000, which lasted 1 hour 46 minutes , becoming the longest lunar eclipse of the twentieth century (which ended on December 31, 2000), notes Pascal Descamps.

This will be the second total lunar eclipse of 2018, the first having taken place on January 31. It was a "super moon" because our satellite had a particularly large apparent size.

That of Monday will be a " mini -Lune ": our companion will be practically farther away from the Earth and its apparent size will be smaller, so it will take longer to cross the shadow cone. [19659003Withoutthesun'sraysthemoonwilldarkenandturnredandthiscoloribadplainedbythefactthattheearth'satmospheredeviatesfromtheraysredsofsunlightintotheshadowconeTheMooncanthenreflectthem

Depending on the conditions of the atmosphere, including pollution, the Moon may be a very dark red gray. Or take a more intense red tint if the atmosphere is dust-free.

The other heroine of the night will be the planet Mars which will be only 57.6 million kilometers from Earth (the minimum distance will be reached on July 31).

It's been 15 years since its apparent diameter has not been so big. And it will be necessary to wait until 2035 to see again the red planet so closely.

With the naked eye, one will see only a bright point but with a telescope or a telescope, it will be possible to observe it in the details. 19659003]

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