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.N .- On July 31, Mars will be 57.6 million kilometers from Earth, the minimum distance between the two bodies in the last 15 years.
As a prelude to the approach, this Friday the red planet and the Sun were lined up with the Earth between them, creating the phenomenon called opposition, which occurs when Mars, seen from Earth, is right in front of the Sun, observed all night.
Mars will be viewed in the night sky brighter than usual and will look bigger as the July 31st approach.
In 2003, Earth and Mars were 55.7 million kilometers, their shortest distance in nearly 60 thousand years. The next approach, in 2020, is estimated at 62 million kilometers.
Eclipse. While Mars shined in all its glory, this Friday was fully observed in East Africa and Central Asia, and partially in West Africa, East Asia. , South America, Europe and Australia, the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
The phenomenon was visible around three hours and 55 minutes, but the moon was completely covered by the Earth's shadow one hour and 34 minutes, acquiring a reddish tone, so the eclipse is called " Blood Moon "
At the beginning and end of the entire eclipse, we could see a bluish band on the moon, caused by the ozone layer of the planet Earth.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth interposes between the Sun and the Moon, and the shadow of the planet obscures the satellite, causing it to become reddish.
This is the second total solar eclipse of 2018, the first having taken place on January 31
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