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Paris, France AFP
The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century will tune the Earth's red satellite Friday, while March, which will be near its closest point "C & # 39; is an unusual and interesting coincidence of phenomena, "said Pascal Descamps, an astronomer at the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Calculus of Ephemeris (IMCCE) of the Paris Observatory.
"The moon will have a reddish tinge, slightly coppery, and Mars, nicknamed" the red planet ", will be at its side very bright, with a slightly orange hue", explains . The astronomical spectacle can be observed with the naked eye, without any danger. But the binoculars, the lenses and the telescopes will make it even more enjoyable
The eclipse will be visible only partially or totally in the half of the world : we can see it from Africa, from 39, Europe, Asia and Australia. The best places to enjoy the show will be the inhabitants of Africa, the Middle East and India
In Latin America will be visible at dusk twilight Friday on the east coast of the continent , Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, although the austral winter may complicate the observation of the phenomenon.
For a lunar eclipse to occur, there must be an almost perfect alignment of the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. When our planet is between the star and the moon, it casts its shadow on our natural satellite.
Friday, the moon, which will be in full moon, will gradually enter the dark, then in the shade, in the night. who will come in completely and then come out gradually.
The complete phenomenon (including the penumbra phase) will begin at 17:14 GMT and will end at 23:28 GMT
The show will actually start at 1824 GMT when it will appear that the Moon has a sting of shadow.
The most captivating moment of the eclipse, when the Moon will be completely in the shadow cone projected by the Earth, will begin at 19:30 GMT and it will end at 21:13 GMT
This phase "total" will last 1 hour and 43 minutes (103 minutes), making it the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
– "Miniluna" –
"Is a replica of the eclipse of July 16, 2000, which lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes, becoming the longest lunar eclipse of the twentieth century [que terminó el 31 de diciembre del 2000] ", explains Pascal Descamps.
This will be the second total lunar eclipse of 2018 after that which occurred on January 31st. On this occasion it was a "supermoon", because the satellite looked to be particularly big.
On Friday, however, will be a "miniluna" since it will be almost in the farthest point of the Earth and it will give the sensation of having a smaller size. Also, for this you will need more time to cross the cone in the shade.
Deprived of the sun's rays, the moon will darken and become red. This color is explained by the fact that the atmosphere of the Earth deviates the red rays of the sun into the cone of shadow, and that the Moon can reflect them.
Depending on atmospheric conditions and, especially, pollution, the moon can acquire a very dark reddish gray, or color a more intense red if there are no particles in the atmosphere .
The other protagonist 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. )
The appearance of its diameter has not been as great for 15 years. And we will have to wait until 2035 to see the red planet so close
At first glance, you will only see a bright spot, but with lenses or a telescope, it will be possible to see it again. observe in detail.
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