Century's longest lunar eclipse and Mars closest approach to occur in July 2018

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                                                                           Image Source- MaxPixel

If you love to stare at night sky, star and planet then this is going to be your golden month. The rare celestial phenomenon like longest lunar eclipse of the century and mars closest approach to the earth are going to happen in July 2018.

Lunar Eclipse

The total lunar eclipse will take place on the night of July 27, 2018. It is expected to be the longest lunar eclipse since last 100 years. The moon will be covered by earth's dark shadow, known as 'The Umbra'. The moon will appear in reddish color, better known as 'Blood Moon'.

Timing of total lunar eclipse in India

As per reports, whole event will start from 23:44 on July 27 and will end at 04:58 of July 28.

The penumbral eclipse will begin around 23:44. After that, the partial eclipse will start at 00:15. And the best part which is total eclipse will start at 01:00 and will end at 02:43. So the total eclipse will last about 1 hour and 43 minutes. At 01:50, the moon will be closest to the center of the earth's shadow. At 04:58, the penumbral eclipse will end.


Globally, the lunar eclipse will be visible in Asia, South America, Africa, Australia and Europe.

Mars closest approach

Other than lunar eclipse, the red planet will come closest to the earth for first time in about 15 years. The last time mars came closest to earth was happened in August 2003 (56.0 million km).

On July 27, the mars, earth and sun will be aligned in a single line with earth in the middle, known as 'Mars Opposition'. On that day, the mars will be far about 57.8 million km from the earth.

On July 31, the mars will make its closest approach to the earth and will be far about 57.6 million km. The red planet will appear more brighter than jupiter.

The location of mars in your region can be known by the sky gazing apps and websites.


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