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As Earth's constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around
Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometers south-west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, young members of the Maasai community watched the eclipse through a high-powered telescope provided by a local couple.
"Until today I thought Mars, Jupiter and the other planets were in the imagination of scientists," Purity Sailepo, 16, told AFP.
"But now I've seen it I can believe it and I want to be an astronomer to tell other people. "
Unlike with a solar eclipse, viewers did not need a protective eye gear
1714 to 2328 GMT – six hours (19659002) The time of complete eclipse – known as "totality", when the moon appears darkest – lasted from 1930 to 2113 GMT. night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.
Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere were particularly rare, especially in southern Africa, Australia, and Madagascar, though it was also visible in Europe, South Asia and South America.
More than 2,000 people with many children in the Tunisian capital of Tunis.
"I hope this eclipse will bring happiness and peace," said Karima, 46, without taking her eyes off the sky.
However, the weather is not the best of the world.
Widespread monsoon rainstorms and thick clouds hid the moon in India and its neighbors, which should have had a prime view. 19659002] Similarly, eager observers who had
"It's a disappointment," Tish Adams, 67, told AFP. "
Meanwhile frustrated crowds of would-be moon admirers gathered on a hill in cloudy north London consoled themselves by breaking into a rendition of Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler's 1983 hit Total eclipse of the heart .
Those in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro had more luck, snapping the red moon in the clear night sky with their phones and cameras.
"I thought it was very pretty and I liked the planet March even more, which you could see right next to the moon, "said Talita Oliveira, 34.
Celestial bodies align
] Unprecedented and bright, a million miles from Earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.
A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes a direct line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that makes our satellite glow whitish-yell ow.
The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it is usually the same as the Earth's shadow – so we have a full moon without an eclipse.
When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush.
This is what gives the phenomenon "blood moon" , though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the color may vary greatly.
It is said that it will be able to reach the moon, "he told AFP.
"During a very dark eclipse the moon may be almost invisible."
The long duration of this eclipse was partly because of the moon made at near-central passage through Earth's umbra – the darkest, most central part of the shadow.
"For tho "It's a unique event," said Sven Melchert, head of a local society of astronomy enthusiasts in Heppenheim, western Germany, cited by the DPA news agency [1965]
The moon was also at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement in the sky.
Nasa, meanwhile, called social media hoaxers claiming that Mars would appear as big as the moon during the eclipse.
"If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon!" the Nasa website stated.
March instead of being a bright star.
"In the middle of a lunar eclipse it can look like a planet has taken up residence near the Earth – they are both eerie and beautiful Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society in London
AFP
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