The longest total lunar eclipse of the century is coming

Early morning on June 16, Vietnam and many places around the world will observe the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century.

Places where the lunar eclipse will be visible include Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, southern South America and the southeastern United States.

Early morning of June 16, Vietnam and many places around the world will be able to observe
The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. Photo: realastrologers

The Earth's shadow will completely cover the Moon for a record 100 minutes. This will be one of the longest total lunar eclipses of the 21st century.

Engineer Dang Tuan Duy, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Amateur Astronomy Club, told VTC News that according to NASA calculations, in Vietnam, the penumbral lunar eclipse will begin at 0:22 a.m. on June 16, when the moon enters the Earth's penumbral shadow.

But a penumbral lunar eclipse will be difficult to detect because the moon will only be slightly darker than usual. The time we should start observing is 1:22 a.m., when the moon will begin to enter the Earth's shadow, starting the partial lunar eclipse phase. At that time, the color of the Earth's shadow on the moon will gradually change from grayish black to red as the shadow grows larger.

The total lunar eclipse will begin at 2:22 a.m. The entire moon will turn red. The eclipse will reach maximum totality at 3:12 a.m., when the moon will be at its most beautiful coppery red.

We will continue to observe the total phase of the eclipse until 4:02 am. After that, the moon will gradually come out of the shadow, the color will gradually return to normal until the moon comes out of the shadow completely at 5:02 am and the partial eclipse ends.

This amazing natural phenomenon is completely observable with the naked eye and does not harm human health, and is not a bad omen.

Simulation of the lunar eclipse in the early morning of June 16, 2011.
Photo: thienvanhoc.org

According to scientists, there are a maximum of 2 total lunar eclipses each year (some years none). In particular, in 2011 there will be 2 total lunar eclipses observable in Vietnam.

On the evening of December 10, 2011, we will see another total lunar eclipse. Although the viewing time will be more favorable, this total lunar eclipse will only last for 52 minutes.

Every lunar eclipse is an opportunity for young people who love science to take pictures, re-examine the atmosphere, calculate the Earth's radius...

According to VTC News