What time do you start and where to see the lunar eclipse of July 27th?

The total lunar eclipse the longest of the century XXI will tune the satellite of the earth red Friday, while Mars, which will be almost to its closest point to the blue planet, it will be particularly brilliant.

"It is an unusual and interesting coincidence of phenomena," Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculus (IMCCE) of the Paris Observatory

Read also : Mars, at its smallest distance from the Earth in 15 years

"The Moon will have a reddish hue, a little copper, and Mars, nicknamed" the red planet "," explains he

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 pleasant

The eclipse will be visible – partially or totally – only in half of the world: it can be seen since 19459008 Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia

The best placed to enjoy the show will be the inhabitants of the 39, Africa, the Middle East and India.

For an ec Lips of the Moon occurs There must be an almost perfect alignment of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon. When our planet is located between the star and the moon, it casts its shadow on our natural satellite.

On Friday, the moon, which will be in full moon, will gradually enter the darkness, then in the shade, where it will enter 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 begin at 1824 GMT, when it will appear that the Moon has a shadowing.

The most captivating moment of the eclipse, that is to say when the Moon will be completely in the shadow cone projected by the Earth, it will start at 19:30 GMT and will end at 21:13 GMT

Read also: The longest lunar eclipse of the century will take place on July 27

This "total" phase will last 1 hour and 43 minutes (103 minutes), which will make it the Longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century

– "Miniluna" –

"It is a replica of the eclipse of July 16, 2000, which lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes, co becoming the most long lunar eclipse of the twentieth century [que terminó el 31 de diciembre del 2000] ", explains Pascal Descamps

This will be the second total solar eclipse of 2018, after the one that took place on January 31st. On this occasion, it was a "supermoon" because the satellite looked to be particularly big.

On Friday, on the other hand, will be a "miniluna" because it will be almost at the farthest point of Earth and it will give the sensation of having a smaller size. Also for this it will take longer to cross the cone of the shadow.

Deprived of the sun's rays, the moon will darken and become red. This color is explained by the fact that the Earth's atmosphere diverts the red rays from the sun into the shadow cone, and the Moon can reflect them .

Depending on atmospheric conditions and, in particular, pollution, the moon can acquire a very dark reddish gray, or color a more intense red if there are no particles in it. ;atmosphere.

The other protagonist of the night will be the planet Mars, which will be only 57.6 millions of kilometers from Earth (the minimum distance will be reached on July 31.)

15 years ago , the appearance of its diameter is not so great. And we will have to wait until 2035 to see the red planet so close

At the naked eye, you will only see a bright spot, but with lenses or a telescope it will be possible to observe it in detail.