Friday, July 27, the longest lunar eclipse of the century arrives

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Friday, July 27, all with their noses turned up for what should be the longest total lunar eclipse of today until the next century. According to the predictions of the astronomical observatory GV Schiapparelli our satellite will enter the Earth's shadow at 20.24, but the eclipse will reach the whole at 21.30 with the maximum peak expected at 22.22 . At 23:13 the Moon will begin to emerge from the shadows and the eclipse will end 19 minutes past midnight.

With its duration of one hour and 43 minutes, this eclipse is the second longest of the century, surpbaded by little that of July 16, 2000 which lasted one hour and 47 minutes. According to astronomers, such a long-lasting darkening will not occur until at least 2100.

During the Friday night, in addition to the Moon, it will also be possible to see Mars, Jupiter and Saturn . In particular, the red planet will be in opposition and "very close" to the Earth (57.6 million kilometers), a situation very favorable to the observation. From the Earth Mars will appear as a small bright red globe, clearly visible even to the naked eye. In addition, the most attentive will be able to see the International Space Station which will cross the night sky with the crew members on board Expedition 56 .

THE EVENTS

For the occasion the Astronomical Observatory GV Schiapparelli organized an evening to witness the phenomenon at the Belvedere Paolo IV del Sacro Monte The meeting is scheduled for 20:30 with a lecture on eclipses, followed by the observation of the moon and planets with the telescope. The entrance is free and free for anyone who wants to participate

Mottarone is ready for observation with a night of sports and stars (all the details here).

The cultural and scientific badociation M42 Bisuschio organizes two observation points with telescopes and experts, one in Bisuschio, the other at the astronomical station of Monteviasco (read the Article)

Original also chosen for the exhibition "Moon unveiled" di Luca Missoni al Baptistery of Velate fraction of Varese, which will see the special night opening on July 27 from 21 to 24, on the occasion of two astronomical phenomena in concomitance: the close encounter between the full moon and Mars, visible at these latitudes even to the naked eye, and a long lunar total eclipse in which the full moon will be tinged with shades of red. (the article on the exhibition)

WHAT IS THE ECLIPSE OF LUNA

The moon that lost its brilliance to dye in bright red was for our ancestors of ancient Rome a clear symbol of his suffering. While the satellite was devoured by a mysterious evil, the only solution seemed to produce as much noise as possible with pots, swords and other metal objects, allowing the moon to come back to shine.

Superstitions behind this phenomenon, but the eclipses of the Moon are still today very significant events.

Total lunar eclipses occur when our satellite is perfectly aligned behind Earth and Sun which is why during these phenomena the Moon is always full. The exceptional duration of the eclipse on Friday is due to the fact that the satellite is near its peak, the point of its orbit farthest from the Earth (a little more than 400 thousand kilometers). While in this position the speed of the Moon is less than when it is closer to us, it will take longer to cross the cone of the shadow

But because during an eclipse the Moon becomes completely red and not just dark? NASA scientists explained that during an eclipse, sunlight pbades through our atmosphere, which filters the radiation. The blue light is the one that is most absorbed, while the satellite is struck by the remaining light. As it is almost completely blue, the light that strikes the moon becomes orange or pink.

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