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The "Moon of Blood" eclipse the longest of the century will coincide with the closest approach to Mars in 15 years to offer skygazers a dual astronomical project throbbing the July 27, according to astronomers
Representative Image
For about half of the world, the moon will be partially or totally in the shadow of the Earth from 5:14 pm to 11:28 pm GMT – six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The complete eclipse – known as "totality", when the moon appears the darkest – will last from 1930 to 21:13 GMT
"The totality will last 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century! " said the Royal Astronomical Society in London
At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.
Our neighboring planet will appear unusually large and bright, barely 57.7 million kilometers from Earth in its elliptical orbit around the sun.
"We have a conjunction of rare and interesting phenomena," said Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris AFP "We should have a copper-red hue on the moon with Mars the "Red Planet" next door, very bright and with a slight orange hue itself. "
Southern Hemisphere amateur astronomers will be the best-placed to enjoy the show, especially those from southern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar, but there will also be partially visible in Europe and South America.
Celestial bodies lined up
A Total lunar eclipse happens when Eart h takes the position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, erasing the direct sunlight that Normally makes our satellite light yellow-whitish.
The moon moves to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit normally pbades above or below the Earth's shadow – most months we have a full moon without eclipse.
When the three celestial bodies are perfectly aligned, the atmosphere of the Earth diffuses the blue light of the sun while refracting it "
This is what gives the phenomenon the name of" blood moon " Although Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland has said that the color can vary considerably. partly on "the haze or transparency of those parts of the Earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight to reach the moon", he said AFP
" During a very dark eclipse, the moon can be almost invisible.
"Less dark eclipses can show the moon as dark gray or brown … like rust, brick-red, or, if very bright, red-copper or orange. "
The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a nearly central pbad through the shadow of the Earth – the darkest and most central part of the earth.
[Eerieandbeautiful' [19659005Oneconstantcompanionwillalsobethemostdistantpointfromtherestoftheworldinthedarknessoftheworld NASA called On social networks, it is claimed that Mars will appear as large as the Moon during the eclipse.
"If that were true, we would be in great trouble considering the gravitational effects on Earth, Mars and our moon Website states.
Mars will most likely appear as a very bright star, and viewers will not need any eye protection equipment.
"A", advises the Royal Astronomical Society
"If you want a close-up view of the moon when it turns red, a pair of binoculars is useful.
"All the eclipses are spectacular," adds Robert Mbadey of the company
"In the midst of a lunar eclipse, it may seem like a red planet has taken up residence near the Earth – they are both mysterious and beautiful. "
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