All earthlings are set to behold the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century on July 27. This day, the earth... Read More

All earthlings are set to behold the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century on July 27. This day, the earth, moon and sun come to align in a perfect line, giving rise to the 'deep red blood moon' spectacle.

And now, news has it that Mars , the ‘red planet’ will also be closing in the gap with the Earth on the same day—making it the shortest distance it has shared with the Earth in fifteen years . In a ‘thrilling astronomical bill’ for skygazers, reports AFP. The best part is, that viewers won’t need any extra protective gear to view the event.

As the Royal Astronomical Society in London put it, “all one has to do is go outside!”

Mars will appear larger and brighter than usual, and will be just 57.7 million kilometres (35.9 million miles) away from Earth.

Pascal Descamps, an astronomer with the Paris Observatory, said that it was a rare “conjunction of phenomena” . "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,” he was reported saying by AFP.

The moon will pass through the centre of the Earth’s shadow, giving rise to what is known as the Deep Red Blood Moon.

According to Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland , the colour can vary greatly during a total lunar eclipse. The Moon's disk can turn blood red (hence the term ‘Blood Moon’) or even very dark gray, depending upon the part of the Earth's shadow it is passing through.

“This time, the moon would pass right through the centre of the earth's shadow which makes it the first central lunar eclipse after the one in June 2011,” said B G Sidharth, Director of BM Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad, reported news agency PTI.

"It is occurring at a time when the moon is at its farthest distance from the earth and so it will be the longest total lunar eclipse in this century. The totality itself will last for an hour and 43 minutes,” the statement added.

Brad Tucker, researcher at Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, explained why we don’t get a lunar eclipse every lunar cycle.

“The Moon is not always in perfect alignment with the Sun and the Earth, so that is why we do not get a lunar eclipse every lunar cycle. You will see the sunrise and sunset of the Earth lighting up the surface of the Moon -- over 350,000 km away. If you were on the Moon, you would see a total solar eclipse as the Earth would be blocking the Sun,” said Tucker, reported news agency ANI citing CNN.



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