The longest total lunar eclipse of the century will be held on July 27

A total lunar eclipse of almost four hours from beginning to end, the longest planned for the entire 21st century, will take place on July 27, coinciding with the full moon.

The total phase will last 1 hour and 43 minutes, during which the Earth's natural satellite will acquire a spectacular red or reddish color, popularly known as "blood moon".

Much of the eastern hemisphere of the Earth will see some or all of the eclipse. The entire eclipse will be visible from Africa, the Middle East and Central Asian countries. The eclipse will be visible from the east of South America when it ends, and from Australia when it begins.

Unlike solar eclipses, no special equipment is needed to observe lunar eclipses. These last events, which occur when the moon pbades in the shadow of the Earth, can be seen with certainty directly to the naked eye, telescopes or binoculars.

The moon turns bright red or reddish brown during eclipses, a place to darken completely. This is because some of the sunlight that flows through the Earth's atmosphere bends around the edge of our planet and falls to the surface of the moon. The Earth's air also diffuses more light of shorter wavelength (in colors such as green or blue); what remains is the longest wavelength, the most red end of the spectrum.

The total eclipse time will be 20.21 on July 27, according to EarthSky.org. The total eclipse will last from 19:30 to 21:13 GMT. There will also be some time before and after when the Moon is in the lightest part of the Earth 's shadow, which is called penumbra. By including this twilight time, the eclipse will last 3 hours and 55 minutes.

"What controls the duration of the lunar eclipse is the position of the moon when it travels through the shadow of the Earth," he told Space. .com Noah Petro, NASA Goddard Center. The darkest part of Earth 's shadow called umbra. You can imagine the ombra as a cone extending from the Earth in the opposite direction of the sun, Petro explained.

"The moon can pbad through the cone, or go through the middle." [el medio] has an Eclipse of longer duration, "he said." This time, the moon pbades closer to the center of this cone, and so the eclipse is a little longer than the loneliness. eclipse that we had in January. "

Also, the moon will be at a point farther from Earth along its orbit, EarthSky noted, which means that the moon will appear a little smaller in the sky and that # It will take a little more time to cross the Earth's shadow.