The longest ' blood moon' eclipse this century will coincide with Mar's closest approach in 15 years to offer sky gazers a thrilling astronomical double bill on Friday, astronomers say.
For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 17:14 to 23:28 GMT six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of complete eclipse known as 'totality', when the moon appears darkest will last from 19.30 to 21.13 GMT.
The eclipse is estimated to start in India at 10.44pm IST on Friday night and the total lunar eclipse is expected to begin at 1 pm IST. from 1.15 am to 2.43 am , the moon will be in the middle of the Earth's shadow and will appear reddish in color. The eclipse will continue till 4.58am though the effect will not ollk as great " Totality will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century!" said the Royal Astronomical Society in Londan. At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in night sky, easily visible with the naked eye.
Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright , a mere 57.7 million kms 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, said . " 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 suthern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar though it will also be partly visible in Europe and South America.
For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 17:14 to 23:28 GMT six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of complete eclipse known as 'totality', when the moon appears darkest will last from 19.30 to 21.13 GMT.
The eclipse is estimated to start in India at 10.44pm IST on Friday night and the total lunar eclipse is expected to begin at 1 pm IST. from 1.15 am to 2.43 am , the moon will be in the middle of the Earth's shadow and will appear reddish in color. The eclipse will continue till 4.58am though the effect will not ollk as great " Totality will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century!" said the Royal Astronomical Society in Londan. At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in night sky, easily visible with the naked eye.
Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright , a mere 57.7 million kms 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, said . " 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 suthern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar though it will also be partly visible in Europe and South America.