In addition to the unique sighting of a much larger looking Mars that has been building up this month and will be in opposition to the Sun on July 27th, the Blood Moon and the eclipse on the same day will bring about a spectacular event for stargazers.
This will be the longest total lunar eclipse (when the moon passes behind Earth and into its shadow) of the 21st century and will be visible with the naked eye, provided there are no clouds. It will last one hour and 43 minutes over July 27 and 28, 2018. For details see below.
In the meantime, of course, doomsdayers have not been idle and – as with every Blood Moon appearance – are preparing for Armageddon. They have been flinging their predictions with fire and brimstone at the general populace for millennia, using an interpretation from a sentence from the Book of Joel: “The sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” And the Book of Revelations has this: “And I beheld when he [Jesus] had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”
Although these myths have been mocked and demystified many times, YouTube is full to the brim with videos showing doomsdayers predicting the end of the world in just a few days time, playing with the fears of their audience.
People in Europe, Africa and Asia will have the best view (Eastern hemisphere) but in the UK, the total eclipse will only be seen for 84 of the 103 total minutes.
New Zealanders have the chance to watch the start of the eclipse before sunrise on July 28.
Parts of central Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Africa will see the eclipse in its entirety.
In South America part of the final stages of the eclipse will be visible just after sunset on July 27.
For folks in the United States – no front seat for you this time!
To get the best view of the eclipse, find an area with low-light pollution. For example, high vantage points in a built-up area, or ideally, a trip to the countryside should provide the best view.
3D Map showing path and visibility of total lunar eclipse
Related article on Osho News
Mars will appear three times larger by end of July
Bhagawati is a regular contributor
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