Friends and family in social media were sharing an article claiming that on July 27th, 2018 Mars would be as large as the moon.
This is a myth. There is a "blood moon" this weekend, and there will be something fascinating about Mars too. But if they appeared to be the same size, we would be in some serious trouble. Here is the science of what will happen with the moon and Mars this weekend. Today, on Friday, July 27th, a "blood moon" lunar eclipse will happen. The full moon passes through the shadow of Earth. What is special about this particular eclipse is that it will change the colour of the moon to a reddish colour. Obviously, that is where the term "blood moon" comes from but, this one will happen for about 103 minutes. At the same time that the longest "blood moon" in history is happening, Mars will be only 35.9 million miles from Earth. According to experts, this is the closest that the "red planet" has been to Earth in 15 years. According to a story on the CBS News website, For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 1:14 p.m. to 7:28 p.m. ET six hours and 14 minutes in all.
This is a myth. There is a "blood moon" this weekend, and there will be something fascinating about Mars too. But if they appeared to be the same size, we would be in some serious trouble. Here is the science of what will happen with the moon and Mars this weekend. Today, on Friday, July 27th, a "blood moon" lunar eclipse will happen. The full moon passes through the shadow of Earth. What is special about this particular eclipse is that it will change the colour of the moon to a reddish colour. Obviously, that is where the term "blood moon" comes from but, this one will happen for about 103 minutes. At the same time that the longest "blood moon" in history is happening, Mars will be only 35.9 million miles from Earth. According to experts, this is the closest that the "red planet" has been to Earth in 15 years. According to a story on the CBS News website, For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 1:14 p.m. to 7:28 p.m. ET six hours and 14 minutes in all.
The period of a complete eclipse known as "totality," when the moon appears darkest will last from 3:30 p.m. to 5:13 p.m. ET. "Totality will last for 103 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century!" said the Royal Astronomical Society in London. So why does a total lunar eclipse like this cause the moon to look red? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website, A total lunar eclipse happens when the whole moon enters Earth's shadow. Some sunlight still reaches the moon, but first, it goes through the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere filters out most of the sun’s blue light, so the moon looks red.