Longest lunar eclipse: Mars coming closest ever to Earth in 15 years

Next week, Mars will be closest ever to Earth than it has been in the last 15 years. The two planets will be just 57.6 million kilometres apart on Tuesday while on Friday, Mars will be in opposition. That means Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of Earth.

The event may enable people to almost double the brilliance of Jupiter through the naked eye, and the longest total lunar eclipse of the century.

According to CNN, the moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and Earth, with the moon in the middle of the Earth and the sun.


On the intervening night of July 27-28, the Moon will be totally eclipsed for one hour, 43 minutes. The event can be observed in a large part of the globe, including in India, where it can be seen after 11.54 pm Indian Standard Time on July 27.

The next close approach, meanwhile, in 2020, will be 62 million kilometres, according to NASA.

The entire eclipse will also be visible from all parts of India. The eclipse will also be visible in the region covering Australia, Asia, Russia -- except the northern part, Africa, Europe, east of South America and Antarctica.

Mars is already brighter than usual and will shine even more. A massive dust storm presently engulfing Mars, however, is obscuring surface details normally visible through telescopes.

(With inputs from Agencies)