Lunar eclipse this Friday

Stargazers are in for a real treat this week because a historic lunar eclipse will be visible in South Africa.

All of South Africa will see a total eclipse of the moon on Friday, July 27 starting at 20:24, according to the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa (ASSA).

This will be a historical eclipse as it will last three hours and 55 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of this century.

Additionally, near the eclipsed “blood moon” on Friday will be the ‘red planet’ Mars shining at its brightest in 15 years.
All of this is easily visible with the naked eye.

According to ASSA we will see the full moon rise just after sunset.

This is how the lunar eclipse will unfold on Friday, July 27.

At 17:13 the moon will start moving into the penumbral (partial) shadow of the earth. Less direct sunlight will reach the eastern (lower) side of the moon and you may notice the moon dimming slightly from that side.

At 18:24 the moon will start moving into the umbral shadow of the earth. From this time, the moon will appear to change shape.
From 19:30 to 21:13 the moon will be totally eclipsed.

The moon will be out of the earth’s umbral shadow and the observable eclipse will be over at 22:19.
By 00:19 the whole show will be over.

“You don’t need any special equipment. Just go out and look. Don’t miss Mars, the bright orange ‘star’ near the moon on Eclipse Night,” ASSA said.

For more on this spectacular event visit https://assa.saao.ac.za/

WITBANK NEWS invites readers to send us your photos of the lunar eclipse. Email your photos to zita@witbanknews.co.za. Photos must not be smaller than 600KB