This Friday , we ’ll experience the longest lunar eclipse of the twenty-first century , one that wo n’t be eclipsed ( ha ) until the 22nd one C . But why will it be so tenacious ? Let ’s find out .
On July 27 , atotal lunar eclipsewill be visible for a whopping 1 hour and 43 minutes from most of Africa , the Middle East , India , Australia , and parts of Europe . It ’ll heyday at about 8.22pm UTC , but unfortunately wo n’t be viewable from the US . The next in the US will be on January 21 , 2019 .
A full lunar eclipse go on when the Moon passes into the deepest part of Earth ’s shadow , the umbra . Here , it ’s strike by sunshine that has been heavily disperse by Earth ’s aura towards the red end of the spectrum . As a solution , the Moon turns a ruddy color .
The length of the eclipse is dictated by where the Moon is in its orbit . It does n’t always follow the same way of life through the umbra , so sometimes it ’ll conk closer to the middle than others owing to its angle with Earth ’s scope , notedLive Science . In this case , it ’ll go aright through the middle . This watch a repeating 18 - class oscillation , experience as aSaros bike .
Another factor is how far the Moon is from Earth . The Moon ’s orbit around our planet changes from its closest point , perigee , of about 363,000 kilometers ( 226,000 miles ) to its furthest , apogee , which is about 406,000 kilometers ( 252,000 miles ) aside .
The further it is , the humble it appear and the slower it is moving . And it just so happens that this full lunar eclipse will take spot during lunar culmination , on the same engagement of July 27 .
Then there ’s also Earth ’s situation to consider , too . This lunar eclipse will occur just after Earth reaches itsfurthest pointfrom the Sun , sleep together as aphelion , in early July . This makes Earth ’s umbral shadow both longer and all-encompassing , keeping the Moon inside the umbra for long .
So these ingredient combined entail that the total lunar occultation next week will be the longest since July 16 , 2000 , which lasted 1 hour , 46 minutes , and 24 bit , just diffident of the maximal possible length of 1 hour and 47 instant . The July 27 eclipse wo n’t be beaten this century , with the next longest of 1 hour , 46 minutes , and 6 arcsecond occur onJune 9 , 2123 .
Now all you demand is to go for for clear skies on the night of the occultation . Fingers thwart .
( H / T : alive Science )
