Tomorrow's Blood Moon Will Be the Longest Lunar Eclipse of This Century
There have been some *spectacular* lunar and solar eclipses over the past few years, and this week brings another show for stargazers to check out.
The next total lunar eclipse will take place this Friday, July 27, 2018. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow. Because the moon takes on a reddish tint during the eclipse, it's affectionately known as a "blood moon." Badass, right? Also, this will be the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting one hour and 43 minutes.
The total eclipse will start at 7:30 p.m. UTC (3:30 p.m. Eastern) and last until 9:13 p.m. UTC (5:13 p.m. Eastern). The peak time to catch the maximum eclipse will be at 8:22 p.m. UTC (4:22 p.m. Eastern).
Before you start setting up your tripods and clearing your camera rolls, there's a catch. The eclipse will only be visible over Eastern Africa and Central Asia, and will be partially visible over Western Africa, Eastern Asia, South America, Europe, and Australia.
So, unless you've booked a flight to one of these spots, you'll have to catch blurry moon pics online with the rest of North America. Womp, womp.
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As an added bonus, Mars will also appear especially large and bright in the sky that night as it moves toward its closest approach to Earth in 15 years, meaning eclipse watchers may be able to catch a great view of the Red Planet alongside the blood moon.
The Virtual Telescope Project will start a livestream at 6:30 p.m. UTC (2:30 p.m. Eastern) and timeanddate.com will begin streaming at 6:00 p.m. UTC (2:00 p.m. Eastern).
Good news! The next total lunar eclipse that will be visible from the United States is just seven months away, coming on January 20, 2019. This leaves us wondering...
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