Islamabad (July 28, 2018): Skygazers around the world including Pakistan have witnessed the longest “blood moon” eclipse of the 21st Century on Friday night.
According to The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow and colour the moon red for more than one hour and forty minutes
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Talking to journalists, Abdul Rashid, director climate data processing centre, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the lunar eclipse will be witnessed from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica.
Rashid added that the lunar eclipse shall have various stages and in the country with all phases being visible. He said that the lunar eclipse would be seen from naked eye nationwide. “It will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of this century,” he said.
“The penumbral eclipse will begin on July 27 at 10:15 pm with its partial phase will kick off at 11:24 pm and the total eclipse will be visible at 12:30 am on July 28,” Rashid said.
“Meanwhile the greatest eclipse will be visible at 01-22 PST on July 28 which is going to be a historical moment,” the PMD official said. Later its partial phase will start at 03:19 am, and the penumbral eclipse will end by 4:29 am.
Mostly a lunar eclipse occurs twice or thrice a year, but this one will be rare owing to its long duration and visibility from globally.
According to the experts, the moon will be the farthest and smallest full moon of the entire year and it will produce the longest total lunar eclipse that many of us on Earth will never get a chance to see again.
The longest ‘blood moon’ eclipse this century will coincide with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years on Friday to offer sky gazers a thrilling astronomical double bill.
Viewers will need no protective eye gear to observe the spectacle — unlike when watching the solar eclipse.
“All you have to do is… go outside!” the Royal Astronomical Society in London advises. For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth’s shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT — six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of the complete eclipse — known as ‘totality’, when the moon appears darkest — will last from 1930 to 2113 GMT.
“Totality will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century!” the Royal Astronomical Society said.
At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible with the naked eye.
Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres (35.9 million miles) 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, told the journalists.
“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.”
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