‘Blood moon’ awes skygazers in century’s longest eclipse
PARIS — The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars' closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle.
As Earth's constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon.
Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, young members of the Maasai community watched the eclipse through a high-powered telescope provided by a local couple.
Unlike with a solar eclipse, viewers did not need protective eye gear to observe the rare display. For about half the world, the moon was partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT – six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of complete eclipse – known as "totality," when the moon appears darkest – lasted from 1930 to 2113 GMT. At the same time, Mars hovered near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.
Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere were best-placed to witness the rare sight, especially in southern Africa, Australia, and Madagascar, though it was also visible in Europe, South Asia and South America.
Mars appeared unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometers (35.9 million miles) from Earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.
A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow. The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth's shadow — so most months we have a full moon without an eclipse.
When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush. This is what gives the phenomenon the name "blood moon," though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the color can vary greatly.
The moon was also at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement across the sky slower from our perspective, thus spending longer in the dark.
NASA, meanwhile, called out social media hoaxers claiming that Mars would appear as big as the moon during the eclipse. "If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon!" the NASA website stated.