The longest lunar eclipse of the century

Do not forget to watch this Friday night because there is a special phenomenon: a blood moon. And not just a blood moon, it's the longest lunar eclipse of this century.

Because of this lunar eclipse, the moon rises on Friday as a blood-red ball. A lunar eclipse or eclipse occurs when the earth enters the sun and the moon. The moon then moves through the shadow of the earth and, therefore, no more direct sunlight falls on the surface of the moon. The sunlight shining along the earth is diverted by the atmosphere to the moon. Because the red light is better deflected, the moon becomes blood red during the eclipse.

Beautiful Face

At this time, the weather is good for Friday night and no clouds are expected.

When the moon rises at 21.33 hours In the Netherlands it is already blackened, but as it is still too light, it will not be able to see well. But at 22:22, during the maximum eclipse, it is certainly dark enough to see the spectacle of the red blood moon. The total eclipse ends at 23.14 hours. In total, it takes one hour and three quarters of an hour; the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century.

Then, the light begins to slowly fall back on the moon and becomes progressively clear in color. It takes about two hours before the moon shines as usual

Blue Super Blue Moon

The last time that a total lunar eclipse was seen in the Netherlands in September 2015. At the beginning of this year, a blue moon to see, but not in the Netherlands. A blue-super-blood moon is a moon relatively close to the earth and therefore seems larger. Plus, it was also an eclipse (which causes blood color) and it was the second full moon in a month (hence the term "blue").

The next lunar eclipse can be seen the following year in the morning of January 21st. Then again in September 2025.