Three rare events in space on Friday night The moon, Mars and ISS over the Bonn night skies
BONN · A rare spectacle will take place in the night skies over Bonn on Friday evening. Not only will we see the longest lunar eclipse of the century, but Mars and the International Space Station will also be visible over the Rhineland.
The longest lunar eclipse of the century, the International Space Station (ISS) over the Rhineland and a bright Mars near the moon - on Friday evening, three extraordinary spectacles will be revealed in the night sky. We have collected the most important information about the rare occurrence.
Longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century
Over Germany, the moon will rise tonight at around 9:15pm, and by then will already be in the Earth’s shadow, making it red in appearance. At about 9:30 pm, the total lunar eclipse begins. The rare lunar eclipse will last around 103 minutes, according to the German Aerospace Center (DLR). A concrete timetable for Bonn can be found here
The event is the result of the interplay between sun, moon, and earth. In a lunar eclipse, the Earth is on a straight line between the sun and moon - so the full moon enters into the shadows cast by the sun-lit Earth into space.
The moon is about 406,000 kilometers away from the planet Earth on Friday - by comparison: the average distance between the two celestial bodies is normally around 385,000 kilometers. In the distance, however, the moon moves a little slower on its orbit than when it is nearer to Earth. That's why the eclipse lasts a little longer.
A bright Mars near the moon
Friday night offers not only the longest total lunar eclipse. Also known as the Red Planet, Mars will be at its closest and brightest to Earth in 15 years, according to DLR. The surfaces of the two planets will then be nearly 58 million kilometers apart. While the lunar eclipse ends just after midnight, Mars can be observed all night long over Bonn, from sunset to sunrise.
The International Space Station over Bonn
Here in Bonn, we will even be able to see the ISS with the naked eye in the night from Friday to Saturday. NASA has listed all of the sighting locations and times on their website. One will be able to see the space station over the Rhineland on Friday about one hour after the beginning of the lunar eclipse, starting from 10:31pm and lasting around six minutes. It reappears a second time after midnight, at 12:52am, visible only for a minute.
Send us your photos of the lunar eclipse to online@ga.de. We will then publish them along with your name.
Orig. text: ga.de (with material from dpa)
Translation: ck
