Where to see the best blood moon

Two spectacular celestial events can be admired on a Friday night in one night: a total lunar eclipse. as big as rare. Observatories and planetariums invite you to watch the show.

Stargazers can look forward to the total lunar eclipse. For 103 minutes, the moon will plunge into the shadow of the earth. According to Markus Griesser, director of the Eschenberg Observatory of Wiesendangen ZH, the moon crosses the shadow of the Earth

Moreover, the distance between the Earth and its satellite is particularly large. Thus, the moon takes longer to cross the Earth's shadow. The moon remains visible even when it is completely in the shade of the earth and that it is bathed in a coppery red light.

The phenomenon, popularly called "blood moon", is caused by the scattered light of the sun. Above all, the red parts of the light are broken by the Earth's atmosphere in the shadow cone

The highest point at 22:22

The entire lunar eclipse, the l 39; entering at the exit of the penumbra, lasts more than six hours. However, at 9 pm the full moon in Switzerland will be barely visible in the summer twilight.

His disc sits deep in the shadow of the earth and now forms a sickle. From 21:30 begins the total phase, which reaches its peak at 22:22

And what are the weather forecast? Do we see the Bloodmoon of Switzerland tonight? Bernd Konantz's forecast of Meteoswiss looks positive:

"On Friday night or the first half of the Saturday night, we expect clear conditions in the central and eastern Mittelland, but the clouds of the day are not clear. West attract attention Milking on the sky In the Jura or above the Alps, spring storms are still partially covered in the spring, which does not allow an undisturbed view of the night sky in part. From today 's point of view, it seems mostly against the East is not bad, but the high clouds mentioned are still subject to certain uncertainties in terms of extent and density. "

view of Mars

By accident, he wants tonight very close to the full moon, the planet Mars is also close to the earth. "We see it a little under the moon as a bright red dot," says Markus Griesser. The distance to Mars is only 57 million kilometers, which is very close to the minimum distance of about 54 million kilometers.

In the night sky, the red planet will be the brightest star. With a telescope, you can even get a glimpse of the surface details of the planet's neighbor, such as its polar ice caps. Mars, known as the Red Planet, is farther away from the Sun than from the Earth. Unlike these, it does not need on its path, but almost two years to go around the sun.

The distance from Mars to the Sun varies considerably: At its furthest point, it is about 250 million kilometers. more than 200 million kilometers. It is only when Mars is close to the Sun and exceeds the Earth on the inner orbit, that it is particularly bright and relatively large in the sky.

This particular constellation occurs on average only every 15 years, most recently in 2003. In Switzerland, the moon will rise at 20:38 on July 27 and at 23:16 in Hamburg – the lunar eclipse has already started

By the way: not only the moon and Mars are clearly visible in the sky tonight, also Jupiter and Saturn. When it's dark, they shine brightly in the evening sky

Looking for a place with as much view as possible

Those who prefer to observe the lunar eclipse in nature instead of in an observatory should be find in a position a little elevated View of the horizon 'looking because the moon will be very flat.

Markus Griesser recommends a hill facing the southeast, where the moon rises. The best way to see the show is to have as few light sources as possible nearby.

The next chance to experience a total lunar eclipse, according to mondfinsternis.net, is January 21, 2019. A total lunar eclipse of the same length as May 27, 2019 However, July will not be before the year 2123 .

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