SINGAPORE: Heads up stargazers, another celestial phenomenon is about to take place at the end of this month.
After being treated to the historical super blue blood moon last January, astronomy enthusiasts in Singapore are looking forward to the longest total lunar eclipse of the century on Jul 28, which also coincides with the Mars opposition.
AdvertisementThis means that skywatchers will be able to gaze at both planet Mars and a total lunar eclipse at the same time.
The lunar eclipse begins in the wee hours of Jul 28 morning, from 1.14am, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The total lunar eclipse will last 1hr 43mins and can be viewed from 3.30am to 5.13am. That is only four minutes shy of the longest possible duration for a total lunar eclipse, which is 1hr 47mins, according to Albert Ho, president of the Astronomy Society of Singapore (TASOS).
The last time a total lunar eclipse lasted nearly as long was on Jul 16, 2000, with a total duration of 1hr 46mins, according to NASA's data.
Similar to the super blue blood moon, the moon on Jul 28 will appear red during the eclipse. However, it will also appear smaller this time.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"This total lunar eclipse also coincides with the lunar apogee when the moon is furthest from the earth," said Dr Abel Yang, a lecturer from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore. "At apogee, the moon will appear slightly smaller because it is further from the earth. This is the opposite effect of a supermoon."
The moon also moves slower when it is furthest from Earth, said Dr Yang. This explains its long duration.
The total lunar eclipse will also coincide with the Mars opposition, said Mr Remus Chua, an astrophotographer and founder of the Singapore Astronomy Forum (SingAstro). The opposition takes place every two years or so and occurs when Mars, Earth and the Sun form a straight line during the course of their orbits, he added.
"When this happens, Mars will be about 5 times brighter than usual, and will enable visual observations through telescopes easy and interesting," Mr Chua said. Mars will also appear as a "reddish star close to the moon", Mr Ho said.
According to a Science Centre Singapore spokesman, planet Mars will come very close to the moon in the early morning of Jul 28.
GETTING READY FOR THE ECLIPSE, MARS
Several astronomy events will take place in Singapore from the evening of Jul 27 to the morning of Jul 28.
All spots for a special viewing event by Science Centre Singapore have been snapped up, a spokesman said, with a total of 120 adults and 80 children aged seven to 12 registered for the free event funded by SkillsFuture. There is also a long waiting list of people who are interested in the event, which is held at the Lifelong Learning Institute, but have not registered, the spokesman added.
At another special viewing, about 500 people are expected to turn up at Marina South Pier for the "MARS-LE: Mars opposition and Lunar Eclipse" event organised by SingAstro. Twelve telescopes will be available at the venue for viewing purposes.
Meanwhile, TASOS will be giving a talk on eclipses at the Science Centre Singapore Observatory classroom on Jul 27.
Several photographers are also expected to capture images of the eclipse and Mars. However, capturing an image of the moon this time might be trickier since it will be smaller than the super blue blood moon, a name coined for the combination of a blue moon, a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse.
"The lunar eclipse or blood moon is the iconic image of next week's phenomena and you'll need a long telephoto lens around 300mm and a sturdy tripod to do so, a high-resolution camera would be a bonus," said photographer Joe Nair. "The moon moves faster than you think, without a decently high shutter speed of at least 1/80 sec there will be motion blur."
He added: "The good news about the upcoming eclipse is that you have a lot of time to work out the settings that will work best."
The total lunar eclipse on Jul 28 can also be viewed from South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, according to NASA.
The next total lunar eclipse will take place on Jan 21 next year but will not be visible from Singapore as it will happen during daylight hours, said Dr Yang. Science Centre Singapore said that the moon in the next lunar eclipse will stay red for only 62 minutes.
Singapore would have to wait until May 26, 2021, for the next total lunar eclipse visible from the country, said TASOS.
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