The longest lunar eclipse of the century will take place tonight. In Bangladesh, the lunar eclipse will start at 11:13pm and end at 5:30am, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
The eclipse will last 1 hour 43 minutes. Maximum eclipse will occur at 2:21am
A total lunar eclipse takes place when the earth comes between the sun and the moon and covers the moon with its shadow. When this happens, the moon can turn red, earning it the nickname “blood moon.”
This time, the earth’s shadow will completely devour the moon, causing the night sky to be pitch black. While looking skyward during a solar eclipse is extremely harmful to your eyes, watching a lunar eclipse is harmless.
This lunar eclipse is primarily visible from the world’s Eastern Hemisphere -- Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The astonishing Mars and “Red Moon” pair up
For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in earth's shadow for six hours and 14 minutes.
At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible with the naked eye.
Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres from earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.
"We have a rare and interesting conjunction of phenomena," Pascal Descamps, an astronomer with the Paris Observatory, told AFP.
"We should have a coppery red tint on the moon with Mars the 'Red Planet' just next to it, very bright and with a slight orange hue itself."
Our constant companion will also be at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement across the sky slower from our perspective, thus spending longer in the dark.
Mars will likely appear as a very bright star during the lunar eclipse tonight.
