The longest total lunar eclipse of this century will occur in the early hours of July 28, Beijing time. For astronomy enthusiasts, are you looking forward to it? So where is the best viewing place for this total lunar eclipse? Which cities in China can see it?
In fact, according to NASA's lunar eclipse catalog, the total eclipse will last an hour and 43 minutes, possibly the longest between now and 2123. According to the time of the eclipse, only people in South America, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia can see it, while the best observation sites are in East Africa, India, the Middle East and Western China.
To find out if your location can enjoy this astronomical spectacle, you can enter your own location in NASA's lunar eclipse explorer to get all the details.
For example, after entering Shanghai, it shows that the total eclipse will occur at 3:30 a.m. on July 28 and last until 5:13 a.m. However, since the moon has fallen below the horizon in the second half of the period, the whole process cannot be observed, only the eclipse moon can be seen. In the western cities of China, such as Urumqi, Lanzhou, Kunming and other places, according to NASA's software, we can see the complete process of total lunar eclipse. However, the city's light pollution will also have a certain impact on the observation, so please be sure to find a place with a better night sky environment.
The total eclipse of the moon is also called the blood moon. Unlike the total eclipse of the sun, we see a shadow of the moon. The moon we see during the total eclipse is red. This is because when the sunlight hits the earth's surface, the atmosphere will absorb or scatter the shorter wavelength violet, blue, green and yellow light, while the longer wavelength red light will be penetrated and refracted to the moon's surface.
2018 seems to be the year of total lunar eclipse. Just over five months ago, in the first half of January 31, Beijing time, a total lunar eclipse of 1 hour and 16 minutes took place. After July 28, this rare astronomical phenomenon will stay away from us temporarily. The next total eclipse will take place on May 26, 2021.
On July 27, Beijing time, the night before the total lunar eclipse, people in China also had the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle of "Mars rush day". The term "Mars chongri" means that Mars and the sun are located on both sides of the earth respectively, and they are arranged in a straight line. At this time, Mars is relatively closer to the earth than usual. From the perspective of the earth, Mars will be brighter. Because Mars is relatively close to the earth, it looks big and bright, which can be said to be a "big rush" of Mars. And the whole August will be the best time to observe Mars all night in 2018.
Every 15 to 17 years, Mars will have a "big rush", the last one occurred on August 29, 2003, nearly 15 years ago. The next "big rush" is expected in 2035.