Blood Moon in July will be the longest lunar eclipse in a century

July announces it as a great month for fans of astronomy.

On the night of July 27 and early morning of July 28, Eastern Hemisphere sky observers will be treated to the longest expected lunar eclipse in the 21st century, reports EarthSky.

Astronomers expect that the total eclipse will last one hour and 43 minutes, with the partial eclipse – which occurs before and after the total eclipse phase – for 3 hours and 55 minutes.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon are directly aligned, and that the orbit of the Moon brings it directly into the Earth's shadow. This particular eclipse will last so long because the moon will pass directly into the darkest region of the Earth's shadow, known as the umbra, which will also give the moon a "moonlight" glow. reddish blood.

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The full July moon will occur at the same time as the moon's apogee – that is when the moon hits its farthest point in the earth in its monthly orbit, according to EarthSky. It will be the smallest and farthest full moon of the year, which means that the moon will take longer to traverse the dark shadow of the Earth, making the eclipse longer.

The longest possible lunar eclipse is 1 hour and 47 minutes, according to EarthSky.

The total eclipse will begin at 19:30. UTC, and ends at 21:13. UTC. The peak of the eclipse will occur at 20:22. UTC.

A few days after the lunar eclipse, Mars will pass through the Earth at its closest point to 2003. On July 31, the red planet will be only 35.8 million miles from Earth, which will make it clearly visible to the naked eye.

Astronomers from the eastern hemisphere will be able to easily see Mars and the blood moon on 27 and 28 July.