While you’re getting ready to celebrate Independence Day with red, white and blue, get ready to see a lot of red in the sky in July. Mars will be at its brightest since 2003, and some skywatchers will be treated to a lengthy lunar eclipse as well.The Red Planet is just about to reach the part of its orbit called opposition, where it is exactly opposite the sun in Earth’s sky.
This year, it will also herald Earth’s closest view of Mars in 15 years. Earth and Mars orbit the sun at different distances. Since Earth is closer to the sun, it orbits faster than Mars. Once every two years (or thereabouts), the sun, Earth and Mars create a straight line with respect to each other — the opposition. [Mars Opposition 2018: What It Is & When to See It]
Opposition this year will happen on July 27, with the closest approach of Mars on 3:50 a.m. EDT (0750 GMT) on July 31. Mars will be bright in the sky — its brightest since 2003, when it came to its closest distance to Earth in nearly 60,000 years. In 2003, Mars was about 34.7 million miles (56 million kilometers) from Earth, according to NASA. This time, Mars will be 35.8 million miles (57.6 million km) away and will be 10 times brighter than usual.
On July 27, Mars will shine brightly in the night sky as it reaches opposition with Earth — and it will be at its brightest since 2003.
Credit: NASA and the Office of Public Outreach (STScI)
You can currently find Mars in the mid-to-late evening southeast sky in the constellation Capricornus, according to EarthSky.org. It will be at its brightest between July 21 and Aug. 3. In addition, the sun will start setting earlier around that time, making it easier to see the planet higher in the sky.
While Mars will look much brighter than usual, don’t believe the hoax saying that Mars will be as big as the full moon. That’s been circulating the Internet since 2003, and it’s just as false now as it was then. In reality, Mars will be only 24.3 arc secondswide from Earth’s perspective, and still appear as a bright star-like object. The moon appears 75 times larger, at 1,800 arc seconds, by comparison.
Blood moon
The other red world in the sky will be the moon, although it will only turn red for a couple of hours. On the same day that Mars reaches opposition, the moon will go through the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
On July 27, observers in Africa, the middle East, southern Asia and the Indian Ocean will see a total eclipse lasting an incredible 1 hour and 43 minutes. (North American observers — who will still be in daylight at that time — will need to watch the show on webcasts.) Including the partial phases of the eclipse, the moon will be in the Earth’s shadow for nearly 4 hours. [Blood Moon 2018: Longest Total Lunar Eclipse of Century Occurs July 27]
Lunar eclipses happen when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, directly opposite to the sun. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are totally safe to view. You need no special equipment — only your own eyes. Lunar eclipse can be either a total or partial eclipse. During a partial eclipse, the moon has a black shadow on it that appears to take a “bite” out of its face.
On July 27, 2018, a total lunar eclipse will be visible from South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. This NASA chart by eclipse expert Fred Espenak shows details and visibility projections for this “blood moon” eclipse.
Credit: Fred Espenak/NASA GSFC
But if the moon moves completely into the deepest part of the Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra, the moon turns red instead of going completely black. The red comes from some of the sunlight going through Earth’s atmosphere. The sunlight bends and falls on to the moon’s surface. (The air of Earth also scatters more shorter-wavelength light — think of colors such as blue or green — which leaves behind red at the longer-wavelength end of the spectrum.)
The time of greatest eclipse will be 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT) on July 27, according to EarthSky.org. The total eclipse will last from 3:30 p.m. to 5:13 p.m. EDT (1930 to 2113 GMT). If you can’t see this eclipse, however, other opportunities will come up in a few months.