The red planet and the "blood moon" are allied in a celestial spectacle

Paris – An unusual celestial conjunction will dazzle astronomy enthusiasts on Friday: the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century will dye our red satellite at the same time as Mars, almost to its nearest point of Earth, it will shine in all its splendor.

The spectacle can be observed with the naked eye, without need of protection as it happens with eclipses of the Sun.

"All they have to do is … go out," encouraged the fans of the Royal Astronomical Society of London.

The eclipse, which corresponds to the moment when the Moon submerges in the shadow of the Earth, can be seen totally or partially in half of the world: Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. But it is in Eastern and Southern Africa, the Middle East and India that the show will be best appreciated.

In all the countries concerned, activities will be organized to observe the phenomenon.

In Madrid, the municipality offers residents of the capital to enjoy the spectacle at the edge of a lake in the large Pradolongo Park, south of the city, during an event enlivened by the performance of the Spanish electronic music artist Pional.

The site www.timeanddate.com gives information on exact places and times to see the eclipse between Friday and Saturday.

Unusual and interesting

"We have an unusual and interesting conjunction of phenomena: the moon must be dyed red, a little coppery, and Mars, called" red planet ", it will be at your side, very bright, with a slightly orange hue, "says Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Paris-PSL Observatory.

For a lunar eclipse to Instead, an almost perfect alignment between the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon is needed, so when our planet is between the star and the satellite, it casts its shadow over the moon that obscures it. [19659002Thefullmoonwillgraduallygointodarknessandthenintotheshadowstobecompletelyblackbeforegraduallyleavingthisarea

The complete phenomenon will begin at 1714 GMT and will end at 2328 GMT. [19659002] But the show in the sky will not start before 18h 24 GMT, when the moon slowly begins to give the impression of being erased from the sky.

The most interesting moment of the eclipse, when the Moon is completely in the shadow cone projected by the Earth, will begin at 19:30 GMT and will end at 21:13 GMT.

This phase, called the "totality" phase, will last for about one hour and three quarters (103 minutes), which will be the longest eclipse of the 21st century.

Serious Problem

This is the second total solar eclipse of 2018. The first took place on January 31st.

Deprived of the rays of the sun, the moon will darken and take on a brick-colored tint: the atmosphere of the Earth deviates the red rays of light from the sun into the shadow cone, which are reflected in the surface of our natural satellite.

The brightness of the moon can be mitigated because "it will pbad through the center of the Earth's shadow, where the light is less refracted", warns Olivier Sanguy of the City of Space Toulouse in the south of France. France

The other protagonist of the night will be the planet Mars, which will be 57.6 million kilometers from Earth.

We will have to wait until 2035 to see again the "red planet" so close to us.

At first glance, you can see a bright spot in the space but with a telescope, it will be possible to appreciate the details.

The sky observation will also deny a rumor spread by social networks that Mars would seem as big as the moon this Friday.

"If that was true, we would have a serious problem given the gravitational force between Earth, Mars and the Moon," joked NASA on its website.