Watch the skies on Friday (today) night – as the moon turns a deep blood red in a rare celestial display which will last more than an hour.
The total eclipse will last one hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds, with a partial eclipse before and after.
The moon will spend a total of three hours and 54 minutes in the earth’s umbral shadow, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
“It will be visible from the time the moon appears around 9pm in the United Kingdom; and the eclipse will be visible from Europe, Africa and the Middle East between sunset and midnight on July 27,” NASA says.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the moon, Sun and Earth line up, with the moon in Earth’s shadow.
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.
Professor of astronomy at the University of Cambridge, Andrew Fabian, says, “It’s called a blood moon because the light from the sun goes through the earth’s atmosphere on its way to the moon and the earth’s atmosphere turns it red in the same way that when the sun goes down it goes red.”
It’s going to be a rare celestial event, he added.
Fabian said, “If you were standing on the moon in this eclipse, you would see the sun and then the earth would come in the way and blot out the sun.
“The rim of the earth would be glowing because light is being scattered by the earth’s atmosphere.”
Sky-watchers will also be able to see Mars burning brightly in the sky, looking like an orange-red star.
The total lunar eclipse will be the longest one so far this century, with the next eclipse of a similar length only due in 2123.
The longest “blood moon” eclipse this century will coincide with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years on Friday to offer sky gazers a thrilling astronomical double bill.
For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth’s shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT — six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of complete eclipse — known as “totality”, when the moon appears darkest — will last from 1930 to 2113 GMT.
“Totality will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century!” the Royal Astronomical Society said.
At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible with the naked eye.
Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres (35.9 million miles) from Earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.
“We have a rare and interesting conjunction of phenomena,” Pascal Descamps, an astronomer with the Paris Observatory, told AFP.
“We should have a coppery red tint on the moon with Mars the ‘Red Planet’ just next to it, very bright and with a slight orange hue itself.”
Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere will be best-placed to enjoy the spectacle, especially those in southern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar, though it will also be partly visible in Europe and South America.
A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow.
The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth’s shadow — so most months we have a full moon without an eclipse.
When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush.
This is what gives the phenomenon the name “blood moon”, though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the colour can vary greatly.
It depends partly on “how cloudy or transparent those parts of the Earth’s atmosphere are which enable sunlight to reach the moon”, he told AFP.
“During a very dark eclipse the moon may be almost invisible.
“Less dark eclipses may show the moon as dark grey or brown… as rust-coloured, brick-red, or, if very bright, copper-red or orange.”
The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a near-central passage through Earth’s umbra — the darkest, most central part of the shadow.
Our constant companion will also be at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement across the sky slower from our perspective, thus spending longer in the dark.
NASA, meanwhile, has called out social media hoaxers claiming that Mars will appear as big as the moon during the eclipse.
“If that were true, we’d be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon!” the NASA website states.
Mars will more likely appear as a very bright star.
“All eclipses are spectacular,” the Royal Astronomical Society’s Robert Massey said.
“In the middle of a lunar eclipse it can look as if a red planet has taken up residence near the Earth — they are both eerie and beautiful and I’ll certainly be looking out for it!”
Source: AFP
