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The longest "blood moon" eclipse of this century was ongoing on Friday, coinciding with the closest approach to Mars in 15 years to treat skygazers from around the world to a thrilling celestial spectacle. "blood moon" eclipse was on display in Cairo (AFP / Khaled DESOUKI / MANILA BULLETIN "width =" 768 "height =" 511 "/>
The Eclipse of" Blood Moon "(1965-19004 As the Earth's companion slowly sailed through the heavens, crowds gathered around the world to spot the rare phenomenon.
Beside Lake Magadi, 100 Southwest of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, young members of the Maasai community watched the eclipse through a high power telescope provided by a local couple.
"Until today, I thought that Mars, Jupiter and the other planets "Purity Sailepo, 16, told AFP
" But now I've seen it, I can believe it and I want to be an astronomer to tell others. "[19659003] Unlike a solar eclipse, viewers do not For half of the world, the moon will be partly or wholly in the shadow of the Te from 5:14 pm to 11:28 pm GMT – six hours and 14 minutes in all.
Eclipse – known as the "totality", when the moon seems the darkest – lasted from 1930 to 21:13 GMT
At the same time, Mars hovered near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye. astronomers from the southern hemisphere are best placed to observe this rare spectacle, particularly in southern Africa, Australia, South Asia and Madagascar, but also in Europe and South America.
More than 2,000 people including many children "I hope this eclipse will bring us happiness and peace," said Karima, 46, without looking away from the sky.
However, bad weather thwarted the cosmic. show in several parts of
Heavy rains of monsoon and heavy clouds have hidden the moon across much of India and its neighbors, who should have had a special view.
Similarly, enthusiastic observers had gathered on the cliffs and beaches of Dorset was left in the dark because of a cloudy sky.
"It's disappointing," said 67-year-old AFP Tish Adams. "I took some pictures but there was only a trail of roses in the sky."
The Celestial Bodies Align
Mars appeared unusually large and brilliant, barely 57.7 million kilometers (35.9 million miles) from Earth in its elliptical orbit around the sun.
"We have a rare and interesting conjunction of phenomena," Pascal Descamps, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory, told AFP. hue on the moon with Mars the "Red Planet" next door, very bright and with a slight orange hue itself.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth takes a position in a straight line between the moon and the sun. The moon moves to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means that it normally goes above or below the Earth's shadow – so most month, we have a full moon without eclipse.
When the three celestial bodies are perfectly aligned, the Earth's atmosphere diffuses the blue light of the sun while refracting or bending the red light on the moon, usually giving it a pink blush.
This is what gives the name to the phenomenon. Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the color can vary widely.
It depends in part on "the transparency or transparency of those parts of the earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight to reach the moon".
"During a very dark eclipse, the moon can be almost invisible. The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a nearly central passage through the shadow of the Earth. the darkest and most central part of the shadow.
& # 39; Eerie and beautiful & # 39;
The moon will also be at the furthest point of its earth orbit, making its movement slower. the prospect,
NASA, meanwhile, denounced the social media's hoaxers claiming that Mars would appear as big as the Moon during the eclipse
"If that were true, we'd be in big trouble being given the gravitation pulls on the Earth, Mars and our moon! ", said the NASA website.
Mars will most likely appear as a very bright star.
"In the middle of a lunar eclipse, it may seem red.The planet has taken up its quarters near Earth – they are both mysterious and beautiful," said Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society of London
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