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Paris (AFP) – Skygazers around the world will be treated to a heavenly spectacle thrilling Friday as the longest "blood moon" eclipse of this century coincides with the closest approach to Mars in 15 ans
Spectators will not need goggles to watch the rare show.
"All you have to do is go out …" said the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London, adding that binoculars will be useful to observe
For about half of the world, the Moon will be partly or entirely in the shadow of the Earth from 1714 to 2328 GMT – six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The complete eclipse period – known as "totality", when the moon appears the darkest – will last from 1930 to 21:13 GMT
"The Totality will last 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century, "said the ASR.
At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.
Our neighboring planet will appear unusually large and bright, barely 57.7 million kilometers from Earth in its elliptical orbit around the sun.
"We have a conjunction of rare and interesting phenomena", Pascal Descamps, astronomer "We should have a coppery red hue on the moon with Mars, the" red planet "next door, very bright and with a slight orange hue herself."
Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere will be best placed to enjoy the show, especially those from southern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar, but it will also be visible in Europe and South America.
The site www.timeanddate.com offers the exact locations and timing of the eclipse as it moves from Friday to Saturday.
– Celestial bodies align –
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth takes a position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, erasing the sunlig The moon moves to a similar position every month, but the The inclination of its orbit means that it normally passes above or below the Earth's shadow – so most months we have a full moon.
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 blush.
Which 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 to reach the moon," he told AFP
"During a very dark eclipse, the moon can be almost invisible "Darker eclipses can show the moon in dark gray or brown … in rust, brick red or, if very bright, red coppery orange. "
The long duration of this eclipse is partly 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 shadow and beautiful –
Our constant companion will also be at the furthest point from Earth's orbit, making its movement across the sky slower from our point of view, thus staying longer in the future.
"If this were true, we would be in great difficulty considering the gravitational pull of Earth, Mars and our moon!", Said NASA.
"At In the midst of a lunar eclipse, it looks like a red planet has made its home near Earth – they are both mysterious and mysterious, "said Robert Massey of the SAR.
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