TRIBUN-VIDEO.COM – Saturday, July 28 2018, Indonesia will be visited by the phenomenon of a total lunar eclipse sky.
This natural phenomenon which is also known as the “blood moon” is very special. The reason is, this will be the longest total lunar eclipse in this century.
Oldest
“The overall duration of the eclipse is 6 hours 14 minutes,” said Marufin Sudibyo, an amateur astronomer to Kompas.com via short message, Friday (06/07/2018).
This eclipse is the longest because of the position of the moon. On July 28, 2018, the moon will be at the apogee point or the farthest point from Earth.
“At the peak of the eclipse, the distance between the Earth and the Moon is calculated to be 406,100 kilometers,” said Marufin.
“(This makes) the relative motion of the Moon to Earth is the slowest compared to previous full moons,” explained Marufin. Blue
Blue
Besides having a long duration, this eclipse is special because of the blue sweep on the moon’s face.
“The blue color sweeps on the moon’s face due to the scattering of sunlight by ozone molecules,” said Marufin.
“(This) becomes more observable,” he continued.
Sunny weather
Marufin also explained that the feature of the lunar eclipse is due to the weather. “This eclipse occurs during the dry season,” he said.
“So the sky will be relatively cleaner,” he added.
This means that the blood moon will be easier to observe without fear of rain like the previous eclipse.
Accompanied by Mars
Adding to its features, in this eclipse the moon will coexist with the planet Mars in the Indonesian sky.
“This lunar eclipse coincides with when Mars is in the closest position to Earth in the last 15 years,” said Marufin.
“The magnitude (Mars) is estimated to be -2.7 (normally only -0.5) so it is much easier to observe,” he concluded. (Kompas / Resa Eka Ayu Sartika)
This article has been published on Kompas.com with the title “Not Only the Oldest, This is the Privilege of the July 28 2018 Lunar Eclipse”, https://sains.kompas.com/read/2018/07/06/203300023/tak-hanya-terlama- this-privilege-lunar eclipse-28-july-2018.
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