There is always a reason to look up, especially if you are in South Africa or Central Asia.
Longest Lunar Eclipse of Century This July
This month, sky-watchers in several regions of the world will get to witness the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
The eclipse on Friday, July 27, will be fully visible for 1 hour and 43 minutes and partially visible for 3 hours and 55 minutes from parts of South Africa and most of Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
According to timeanddate.com, the eclipse will peak at 8:21 p.m. UTC (or 4:21 p.m. EST) and the full eclipse will end at 9:13 p.m. UTC (5:13 p.m. EST).
During a lunar eclipse, Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth’s dark umbral shadow completely covers the moon.
“Total eclipses are a freak of cosmic happenstance,” Space.com reported. “Ever since the moon formed, about 4.5 billion years ago, it has been inching away from our planet (by about 1.6 inches, or 4 centimeters per year). The setup right now is perfect: the moon is at the perfect distance for Earth's shadow to cover the moon totally, but just barely. Billions of years from now, that won't be the case.”
The July 27 eclipse will be the second lunar eclipse of the year. The first took place Jan. 31 and gave way to a super blue blood moon, which occurred when the full moon passed through the Earth’s shadow for a total lunar eclipse and gave off a reddish tint.
Unfortunately, the United States will miss out on the celestial spectacle this month and will have to wait until July 2020 to witness a lunar eclipse, according to NASA.gov.
Mars is Closest to Earth Since 2003 This Month
The Red Planet is just about to reach the part of its orbit called opposition, where it is exactly opposite the sun in Earth's sky. This year, it will also herald Earth's closest view of Mars in 15 years. Earth and Mars orbit the sun at different distances. Because Earth is closer to the sun, it orbits faster than Mars. Once every two years (or thereabouts), the sun, Earth and Mars create a straight line with respect to each other — the opposition. [Mars Opposition 2018: What It Is & When to See It]
Opposition this year will happen on July 27, with the closest approach of Mars on 3:50 a.m. EDT (0750 GMT) on July 31. Mars will be bright in the sky — its brightest since 2003, when it came to its closest distance to Earth in nearly 60,000 years. In 2003, Mars was about 34.7 million miles (56 million kilometers) from Earth, according to NASA. This time, Mars will be 35.8 million miles (57.6 million km) away and will be 10 times brighter than usual.
You can currently find Mars in the mid-to-late-evening southeast sky in the constellation Capricornus, according to EarthSky.org. It will be at its brightest between July 21 and Aug. 3. In addition, the sun will start setting earlier around that time, making it easier to see the planet higher in the sky.
While Mars will look much brighter than usual, don't believe the hoax saying that Mars will be as big as the full moon. That's been circulating the internet since 2003, and it's just as false now as it was then. In reality, Mars will be only 24.3 arc seconds wide from Earth's perspective and will still appear as a bright, star-like object. The moon will appear 75 times larger, at 1,800 arc seconds, by comparison.
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