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Blood Moon dazzles star gazers in longest lunar eclipse of 21st century

By Baz Ratner and Cecilie Kallestrup

 

A full moon rises, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel July 27, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

 

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A blood-red moon dazzled star gazers across much of the world on Friday when it moved into Earth's shadow for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st Century.

 

From the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East, and from the Kremlin to Sydney Harbour, thousands of people turned their eyes to the stars to watch the moon, which turned dark before shining orange, brown and crimson in the shadow.

 

The total eclipse lasted 1 hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds, though a partial eclipse preceded and follows, meaning the moon will spend a total of nearly 4 hours in the Earth's umbral shadow, according to NASA.

 

The fullest eclipse was visible from Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia and Australia though clouds blocked out the moon in some places.

 

The eclipse will not be visible from North America or most of the Pacific.

 

Reuters charted the eclipse from across the world, capturing a shimmering orange and red moon above Cairo, the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, near Athens, the Bavarian village of Raisting in Germany, Rio beach in Brazil and Johannesburg.

 

In Nairobi, Kenyans watched as the moon darkened.

 

"This is what life is all about: Magical moments like this," said Teddy Muthusi as he watched from Uhuru Park in Nairobi. "It's just beautiful. It's well worth it."

 

On the banks of India's Ganges, temples were closed ahead of the eclipse. Enthusiasts watched through telescopes at the Marina South Pier in Singapore and at the Al Sadeem Observatory in Al Wathba near Abu Dhabi.

 

Hundreds of people in Australia paid to watch the eclipse from the Sydney Observatory before sunrise.

 

When the moon moved into the conical shadow of the earth, it went from being illuminated by the sun to being dark. Some light, though, still reaches it because it is bent by the Earth's atmosphere.

 

Graphic of eclipse https://tmsnrt.rs/2JP09kK

 

"It's called a blood moon because the light from the sun goes through the Earth's atmosphere on its way to the moon, and the Earth's atmosphere turns it red in the same way that when the sun goes down it goes red," Andrew Fabian, professor of astronomy at the University of Cambridge, told Reuters.

 

At the same time, Mars is traveling closer to Earth than it has done since 2003, so some observers may see what looks like an orange-red star - and is in fact the red planet.

 

"It is a very unusual coincidence to have a total lunar eclipse and Mars at opposition on the same night," said Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, who watched the eclipse from the Mediterranean Sea.

 

For thousands of years, man has looked to the heavens for omens of doom, victory and joy. The Bible contains references to the moon turning into blood and some ultra-Orthodox Jews consider lunar eclipses ominous and a cause for moral contemplation.

 

According to some Hindu beliefs, celestial bodies such as the sun and moon emit negative energy during an eclipse and so some temples in India were closed to minimize any disturbance.

 

Astronomers, though, said there was no cause for worry.

 

"There is no reason to believe that blood moons foretell doom," said Massey. "This does not herald the apocalypse: seeing a lunar eclipse and Mars in the sky is something people should enjoy rather than worry about."

 

The next lunar eclipse of such a length is due in 2123.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-28

[Scott]

Gee, I missed this one.   I'll try catch the next one!

 

[Skywalker69]

4 hours ago, Scott said:

Gee, I missed this one.   I'll try catch the next one!

 

Me too. ?

[TKDfella]

Allegedly taken at Athens;

If the Moon ever appeared that big we'd be in trouble,?

[holy cow cm]

CM had rain. No go on that one.

[sammieuk1]

When I woke up I to had a full moon luckily not a blood red but more of a pasty white and slightly spotty. 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

Allegedly taken at Athens;

If the Moon ever appeared that big we'd be in trouble,?

That photo has been taken with a very long lens or using a telescope, far away from the ruins. 

Probably based on pre-calculations where to take the photo from. Some of the best Moon photos require a lot of planing.

 

 

[balo]

Why do the media keeps telling us this is a once in a lifetime experience , when the next blood moon is just around the corner ?  

 

Oh I get it , it was in Europe this time. Next year it will be in Istanbul . 

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by balo

[Grusa]

7 hours ago, TKDfella said:

Allegedly taken at Athens;

If the Moon ever appeared that big we'd be in trouble,?

Actually it does.  Google "moon illusion". It's a well known optical illusion, same as the sun at sunset being much bigger than the sun at midday.

 

The actual angular subtense of the sun and moon do not change, it is an illusion produced by apparent distance.

[TKDfella]

7 hours ago, oilinki said:

That photo has been taken with a very long lens or using a telescope, far away from the ruins. 

Probably based on pre-calculations where to take the photo from. Some of the best Moon photos require a lot of planing.

 

 

Maybe, but my point is it isn't he truth.

[TKDfella]

11 minutes ago, Grusa said:

Actually it does.  Google "moon illusion". It's a well known optical illusion, same as the sun at sunset being much bigger than the sun at midday.

 

The actual angular subtense of the sun and moon do not change, it is an illusion produced by apparent distance.

Yes they do appear big by illusion but I think not as big as this, and this photo is not at the horizon. Normally the Moon will be covered by a finger tip (or small pebble) at arms length but at the horizon, depending on circumstances, the illusion can be 15-30% area larger than normal. The moon in this photo is several hundred percent larger. Grusa (quote #9) is more like the accurate reason. Also don't forget, there is no one hypothesis that is generally agreed for the illusion.

[swanny321]

On 7/28/2018 at 4:40 AM, Skywalker69 said:

Me too. ?

 

  Inhale a mood b'loon at a the next Full Moon and it may take on a similar hue.