World looks to the skies as 'blood moon' eclipse begins

Skygazers gathered in Berlin as they waited for the sun to go down and the "blood moon" to arise

The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century began on Friday, coinciding with Mars' closest approach in 15 years to treat skygazers across the globe to a thrilling celestial spectacle.

Unlike with a solar eclipse, viewers do not need protective eye gear to observe the rare display.

"All you have to do is... go outside!" the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London said, adding that binoculars would be useful to observe the phenomenon.

For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth's shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT -- six hours and 14 minutes in all.

The period of complete eclipse -- known as "totality", when the moon appears darkest -- will last from 1930 to 2113 GMT.

At the same time, Mars will hover near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.

Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere will be best-placed to enjoy the spectacle, especially those in southern Africa, Australia, India and Madagascar, though it will also be partly visible in Europe and South America.

Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, husband and wife team Susan Murabana and Chu Owen set up their high-powered telescope for the local community to watch the event.

The isolated lake is far from urban light pollution, making it the perfect spot for planet-spotting.

Young people -- some in traditional Maasai outfits and armed with alem daggers -- gathered around, laughing and pointing to the engorged, bright-white moon overhead.

"It's good to give people who wouldn't otherwise get to use a telescope like this an opportunity," said Murabana, 39.

Purity Sailepo, 16, said that she had been inspired by the telescope visit to become an astronomer

"Until today I thought Mars, Jupiter and the other planets were in the imagination of scientists," she told AFP.

"But now I've seen it I can believe it and I want to be an astronomer to tell other people."

The website www.timeanddate.com also offers the exact locations and timing of the eclipse as it moves from Friday into Saturday.

- Celestial bodies align -

Our neighbouring planet will appear unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres (35.9 million miles) 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."

A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow.

The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth's shadow -- so most months we have a full moon without an eclipse.

When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush.

This is what gives the phenomenon the name "blood moon", though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the colour can vary greatly.

It depends partly on "how cloudy or transparent those parts of the Earth's atmosphere are which enable sunlight to reach the moon", he told AFP.

"During a very dark eclipse the moon may be almost invisible.

The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a near-central passage through Earth's umbra -- the darkest, most central part of the shadow.

- 'Eerie and beautiful' -

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.

NASA, meanwhile, called out social media hoaxers claiming that Mars would appear as big as the moon during the eclipse.

"If that were true, we'd be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon!" the NASA website stated.

Mars will more likely appear as a very bright star.

"In the middle of a lunar eclipse it can look as if a red planet has taken up residence near the Earth -- they are both eerie and beautiful," Robert Massey of the RAS said.