On July 27, 2018, some of the world will be treated to a night with extraordinary activity in the sky. This rare total lunar eclipse is special, because it will last longer than usual, even the longest of the century. But not only that, Mars will shine brighter than in the past 15 years.
Although total lunar eclipses occur relatively frequently, however, which occurs on Friday 27 July 2018, is very special because it lasts longer than other eclipses in the 21st century. The totality of parts of the eclipse when the moon is fully in Earth's shadow, lasts for 1 hour 43 minutes. It's longer than a standard lunar eclipse that only lasts about an hour. The next eclipse will occur in 2025, which will last for 1 hour and 22 minutes.
The total eclipse on Friday will be seen in most regions of Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and South America. Close to the lunar eclipse, Mars is equally spectacular. This planet will be the opposition on the opposite side from the Sun to Earth.
Tonight Mars shines brightly, even brighter than Jupiter, or nearly three times brighter than the brightest star in the night sky, the Sirius star. The sun, moon and Venus are the only celestial bodies brighter than Mars.
Redness at a certain level is common in all lunar eclipses, even partially. This eclipse is a total lunar eclipse, which will be very red.
During the eclipse most of the light from the Sun is blocked by the Earth as the moon moves through Earth's shadow. But a small amount of light passes through the outside of the Earth's atmosphere and reflects the moon's shadow. Only red light can penetrate the atmosphere. This is why the moon looks red during the eclipse and is therefore sometimes dubbed the 'blood moon'.
