The blood moon dazzles astronomers in Australia and around the world

The so-called "blood moon", when it turns dark red, is visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America when the sun, the Earth, and the moon are over. Align perfectly, projecting the shadow of the Earth on the moon. with the whole event for more than four hours. For about half of the world, the moon will be partly or entirely in the shadow of the Earth for six hours and 14 minutes in all.

The moon began to turn red around 4.30am tomorrow

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SHOWS MOON BLONDE BELOW

Throughout Africa, people are turning to the sky as the reddish shadow glides on the surface of the moon. In Somalia, some rushed to mosques for special prayers often observed during lunar eclipses. In South Sudan, some have dared to take pictures in a war-torn country, where the use of a camera in public is discouraged. In the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, people from an open-air restaurant admired a rare unobstructed view during the rainy season, comparing a live broadcast of NASA to what they saw above. above. Then the clouds entered.

"Dem yelebesech chereka", some whisper – Amharic for "moon of blood."

"The moon blushes because atmospheric scattering makes red light pass through the atmosphere and composition Tom Kerss, an astronomer from the Royal Observatory of Greenwich

" And the density of the dust that increases in the atmosphere can make the moon appear a particularly deep red, "

MARCH APPROACH

In a special treat, Mars is also approaching her closer to Earth this week since 2003, making it appear "We have a conjunction of rare and interesting phenomena," says Pascal Descamps, astronomer at the Paris Observatory: "We should have a coppery red hue on the moon with Mars the red.Planet & # 39; s right next door, very bright and with a slight orange hue. "

Excited sky observers on social media shared photos of the bright planet just to the right of the Moon.

North America missed lunar eclipse on Friday. expect next January 21, 2019, according to NASA.

ECLIPSE, BLOOD MOON EXPLICIT

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth takes a position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, erasing the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite bright yellow-whitish.

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. We have a full moon without eclipse

When the three celestial bodies are perfectly aligned, the Earth's atmosphere diffuses blue light from the sun while refracting or bending the red light on the moon, usually giving it a pink color.

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 greatly.

It depends in part on "what part of the Earth's atmosphere allows the sun to reach the moon," he said.

"During a very dark eclipse, the moon can be almost invisible, the darker eclipses can show the moon in gray or dark brown … in rust, red brick or, if they are very clear, in red copper or orange. "

The long duration of this eclipse is in part due to the fact that the moon will make a nearly central pass through the shadow of the Earth – the darkest and most central part of the earth. 39; shadow.

Our constant companion will also be at its farthest point on Earth. From our point of view, we spend more time in the dark.

NASA, meanwhile, denounced social media hoaxes claiming that Mars will appear as big as the Moon during the eclipse.

be in great difficulty considering the gravitational effects on Earth, Mars and our moon! ", says NASA website.

Mars will most likely appear as a very bright star.

" In the middle of a lunar eclipse, it may look as if a red planet has taken up residence near Earth – they are both mysterious and handsome tiful, "Robert Massey of the SAR said