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The next fortnight will be a real treat for astronomers – there are five planets to see in the evening sky, Mars looks the best we've seen in 15 years, and the morning of July 28 there will be a total lunar eclipse
We are currently in the midst of a season of five planets due to Jupiter and Saturn being on the same side of the sun.
Look at the sky after sunset, and if you have a good view of both East and West horizons, you will see the planets extended online. Mars and Saturn will rise to the east, Jupiter will sit high, and Venus shining and Mercury low will lie to the west.
Over the next few years, there will be more times when the five planets will be visible to the naked eye can be seen together. But finally Jupiter and Saturn will separate and once that happens, it will be another decade before the five planets come together.
The moon began its planets tour on Sunday, July 15th. the west sky, with Mercury just to the left, with Venus shining on it
The next night, the moon was near Venus (as shown in the picture above). Then, on Thursday, July 19, the Moon of the First Throne will be under the bright star Spica
On July 21, the gibbous moon will have made its way to Jupiter and on July 25 it will join Saturn.
Full Moon ends the tour on July 27 when she joins Mars who shines at his best and most brilliant.
RED PLANET, RED MOON
Every month, when we see the full moon, we see the moon "in opposition". This means that the moon is directly in front of the sun, that it rises as the sun goes down and sets when the sun rises
On July 27, not only is the moon in opposition, but Mars is also very supportive. Mars is much closer to Earth than usual.
Mars is closest to Earth on July 31st at a distance of 58 million km and its rapid increase in brightness in recent weeks has been amazing. September, Mars will eclipse Jupiter and become the third brightest object in the night sky, behind the moon and Venus.
The reason that Mars can vary so much in brightness is because it is our neighbor in the space and it follows quite elliptical. orbit. Throughout the year 2017, Mars was rather dull as it was on the opposite side of the Sun to the Earth, and therefore to its farthest.
But even with each opposition, the distance between Earth and Mars can vary by nearly 50 million km. because of the elliptical orbits of the two planets. 2018 is certainly one of the best
With Mars a striking red in the night sky, what else could be better than teaming up with a blood-red moon
INTO THE SHADOW
When we look at the In the early hours of July 28, Red Mars will sit just above and to the left of the eclipsed moon.
Everywhere in Australia, everyone will see the moon go into the shadow of the Earth at the same time. In fact, everyone on the side of the Earth will see the eclipse together.
Western Australia will be the only state to observe the entire eclipse. It will begin with the moon high to the northwest and end with the low moon up to the western horizon.
For the rest of Australia, the eclipse will begin with the moon in the western sky and the moon will set as the eclipse. . As the moon sets, the sun will rise and the later part of the eclipse will occur against the dawn sky.
The exact time of the moonset depends on the place, the moon rises earlier.
In Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, the moon will set over the whole while Darwin, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart will see the end of the totality and the moon will go to rest partially overshadowed.
The advantage of seeing the eclipse the low moon on the horizon is that the moon illusion will come into play. Our brains make us believe that the moon is larger than the moon. normal, which is why the rising and falling moon can be particularly breathtaking.
LUNAR TRIFECTA
Lunar eclipses are generally slow, but this one overcomes them all by being the longest eclipse of the 21st century.
The Totality will last 1 hour and 43 minutes, just four minutes less than the longest possible time. Three things came together to make this possible.
First and foremost, this eclipse will see the moon move to the center of the Earth's shadow, creating a long, deep eclipse.
Secondly, the eclipse occurs an "apogee" moon, when the moon is farthest away from the Earth.
For those who remember Kepler's second law, being farthest means that the moon is moving at its slower. As a result, it will spend five to ten minutes more in the shadow of the Earth compared to a perigee moon, when the moon is at its closest approach to Earth and moves faster.
Finally, a few extra minutes are occurring near the aphelion, that is, when the Earth is farthest from the Sun and occurs in early July.
What is interesting is that the Earth is farthest away from the Sun. The darkest part of the Earth's shadow is the region in which the moon must pass to make an eclipse (there are also penumbral eclipses, when the moon passes only through the paler and penumbral shadow , but it is almost impossible to the brightness of the moon in this case).
It is completely safe to watch a lunar eclipse and no special equipment is needed to view it. This is our last chance to see a total lunar eclipse until May 2021, although we will catch a partial lunar eclipse next July.
Get ready for a good planet watching over the next fortnight. July 28 to see the eclipse and catch a real natural wonder.
Tanya Hill is an honorary member of the University of Melbourne and Senior Curator (Astronomy), Victoria Museums
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