A spectacular red moon will rise on Friday evening, marking the beginning of the longest total lunar eclipse that the Earth will see this century – and it will be visible in the UK.
What is a “blood moon”?
To give the blood moon its technical name, it is a lunar eclipse – caused by the Earth passing between the moon and the sun.
During a total eclipse, the Earth completely obscures sunlight from directly hitting the moon as the sun, the Earth and the moon will be in perfect alignment.
Only light that is refracted through Earth’s atmosphere manages to reach the moon, with everything outside of the red wavelengths being scattered, leaving the moon looking blood red.
Because of the way the moon orbits the Earth, and because the Earth orbits the sun, there are always at least two lunar eclipses every year.
However, there are rarely total eclipses, when both the moon is full and the Earth completely blocks the sun.
When will the blood moon happen and where can I see it?
The Earth will pass between the sun and the moon for 103 minutes on Friday evening.
The eclipse will be visible in its entirety for people located around the Indian Ocean and surrounding countries, from India to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It will be partially visible in the UK from 8.50pm on Friday evening if viewers look to the south east
Is it safe to look at?
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is quite safe to look at with the naked eye.
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