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MEXICO CITY (APT) .- The longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century began to dye our red satellite this Friday, while Mars, almost at its closest point to Earth, shone with all its splendor.
The double show was observed with the naked eye, without need of protection as it happens with the eclipses of the Sun, with the exception of the clouds.
"All they have to do is … leave," encouraged the fans The Royal Astronomical Society of London, as described in AFP .
The eclipse, which corresponds to the moment when the Moon is submerged in the shadow of the Earth, has been observed totally or partially in the 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 has been best appreciated.
"We've already done it at the solar eclipse of 2016," said 39-year-old Susan Murabana. On this occasion, some 300 members of the local community, mainly Masai, came.
"It's the way to give them the opportunity" to be able to observe this type of phenomena, Susan explains, while her husband was installing the device.
In Latin America, the eclipse was visible at twilight of Friday's dusk on the eastern Continent coast, in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, although the southern wintering complicated the observation of the phenomenon.
In Madrid, the city council proposed to the inhabitants of the capital to enjoy the spectacle near a lake in the large Pradolongo Park, south of the city, during an event that was animated by the performance of the Spanish electronic music artist Pional.
"We have an unusual and interesting conjunction of phenomena, the moon should be dyed red, a little copper, and Mars, called" red planet ", will be next, very bright, with a slightly orange hue," explains Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Paris-PSL Observatory, 19659002] For an eclipse of the Moon to take place, an almost perfect alignment between the Sun, the Earth and the Moon is necessary. is between the star and the satellite, it casts its shadow on the moon that darkens it.
The full moon will gradually go into darkness and then in the shadows to find itself completely in the dark before leaving said area
The complete phenomenon began at 17:14 and ends at 23:28 GMT
The most interesting moment of the eclipse, when the Moon is completely in the cone shadow projected by the Earth, It will start at 19h 30 and will end at 21:13 GMT
This phase, called "totality", will last for nearly one hour and three quarters (103 minutes), which will be the longest lunar eclipse. XXI
This is the second total solar eclipse of 2018. The first took place on January 31st.
Color of the brick
Private sun rays, the moon will not only blacken it, but it will take a brick tint: the atmosphere a terrestrial diverts red light rays of the Sun in the cone of shadow, which is reflected on the surface of our natural satellite.
The brightness of the moon can be obscured 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 The Space of Toulouse in the South of France
The other protagonist of the night was the planet Mars, which will place 57.6 million kilometers of the Earth. And we will have to wait until 2035 to see 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 To appreciate the details.
Sky observation will also dispel a rumor spread by social networks, according to which Mars will appear as big as Moon on Friday.
"If it were true, we would have a serious problem given the gravitational force between the Earth, Mars and the Moon," joked NASA on its website
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