Longest lunar eclipse of the century to happen Friday

Our red moon will have some company Friday, when Mars is the closest to Earth that it’s been in 15 years. Sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere will light the moon in a dramatic fashion, turning it red.

Mars will more likely appear as a very bright star.

When will I get a chance to see a blood moon again?

“This total lunar eclipse will be primarily visible from the world’s Eastern Hemisphere, which are Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand”.

Millions of Americans watched the first solar eclipse visible from the USA since 1979 last August. The full moon in communal, idealistic Aquarius arrives with extra potency as a total blood moon lunar eclipse, the second in a trio of galvanizing eclipses happening between July 12 and August 11 of this year.

Today, the world is set to witness one of the longest total lunar eclipses of the century.

“This moon event is bright so there is no need to travel out”. He encouraged people to view the eclipse that will last approximately 103 minutes. On average, the totality lasts approximately one hour to one hour and 30 minutes during moon eclipse.

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Andrew Fabian is with the University of Cambridge.

Skywatchers are advised to pick a location with a clear horizon on the south-east in order to maximise their viewing time. But the bending (refraction) of the rays of light caused by our atmosphere makes it feasible to see both the eclipsed Moon and the Sun at the same time – so long as you are in the right place.

The moon will start changing shape as it enters the shadow of the earth at 8:24pm.

The “blood moon” effect is created due to light passing through Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters blue light, meaning the moon turns a reddish colour.

Some are unimpressed by the biblical moniker for this evening’s event.

While stargazers are excited to witness the Blood Moon on this big day, there are certain beliefs or myths that have revolved around this phenomenon for centuries.

Astronomy enthusiasts in Taiwan have gathered at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to watch the lunar spectacle. It will gradually become darker and glow progressively redder over the next hour and a half. “It’s something that people have heard of before”, she said.

Slooh will broadcast the entire lunar eclipse on its YouTube channel, which should go live at 1:00 p.m. EDT (17:00 UT).

Mars is reaching its opposition, when it’s in alignment on the opposite side of the Earth and the sun.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope photographed Mars on July 18, near its closest approach to Earth since 2003. The next time that record will be broken is in 2287.