This upcoming weekend has some special treats in store for stargazers and astronomy-enthusiasts across the world!
According the Weather Network, the moon is set to pass through the deepest, darkest part of the Earth’s shadow and take on a bright red hue for the longest period of time recorded in the 21st century. And it’s all going down this Friday, July 27th, from 10:47 a.m. til 4:28 p.m.
There will be a total of 103 minutes (that’s 1 hour and 43 minutes) where the moon will appear completely red. This phenomenon is not expected to occur again until the year 2123!
The length of time can be attributed to the fact that this is both an Apogee Moon (when the Moon is farthest from Earth in its elliptical orbit), and the time when the Moon is travelling the slowest along its orbit.
Unfortunately this historic event will not be witnessed in its entirety by us North Americans, who have the worst seats on the planet – literally! Among Canadians, people in Newfoundland will be getting the best view of the phenomenon from start to finish.
But the rest of us will still be able to see our satellite take on the reddish colour that is reminiscent of Mars.
And speaking of Mars…
The Red Planet itself is about to be the closest to Earth that it has been in 15 years – on the same night as the lunar eclipse!
According to NASA, Mars is about to get quite close to us, as it reaches the part of its orbit called ‘opposition’, where it’s exactly opposite the Sun in the Earth’s sky.
It will shine its brightest between July 27th and 30th when the Sun, Earth, and Mars all line up, with Earth sandwiched in the middle of the other two.
However the Red Planet will be closest to Earth on Tuesday, July 31st, when it reaches a distance of 57.6 million kilometres – this phenomenon is called Mars Close Approach.
But just in case you miss Mars Close Approach this year, the next one is scheduled to take place on Oct. 6, 2020.
Happy sky-gazing!
