A total eclipse such as the one that will be observed in the early hours of this Thursday for Friday, in which the moon will be dyed red, “it cannot be seen again until 2048,” said Yasmina Martos, a scientist from the US Space Agency NASA, in an interview with Efe.
Martos, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, explained that this phenomenon occurs because the sun, earth and the moon are aligned in such a way that the satellite passes through the complete shadow of our planet.
As clarified, an alignment of this type “occurs every six months”, but the fact that the satellite orbit is inclined causes most eclipses to be partial, unlike the one that will take place tonight.
When it comes to a total eclipse, in addition, another astronomical phenomenon known as Blood Moon occurs.
“As the eclipse begins and the moon passes through the shadow of the earth, it will begin to become orange until it becomes a reddish color. That happens because the light that comes from the sun crosses the earth’s atmosphere as if it were a halo and the wavelength that manages to pass is the red one, which is the one that reaches the moon, ”Martos said.
If this phenomenon could be observed from the lunar surface, it would be “like all the sunrises and sunsets of the earth at the same time,” he said.
This event, which will be visible mainly from America, will begin near midnight on Friday (local time) and will reach “its maximum around 3.00” (7.00 GMT), although in total it will last about six hours.
This eclipse is even more special for NASA scientists because it will occur on March 14, date on which Pi Day (3.14) is celebrated, the constant mathematics used in numerous scientific fields and that, in this case, helps astronomers calculate which part of the moon will be covered by the shadow of the earth.
“It is very rare to match this day. Pi is a fundamental number not only for mathematics, but for almost all science. It is a fairly spectacular fact, ”Martos said about the coincidence.
For the scientist, beyond her spectacularity, this eclipse represents a job opportunity, since it is involved in one of the instruments of Blue GhostNASA’s mission on the moon that landed there on March 2.
This ship is part of the Artemis program, which seeks to bring humans back to the satellite. On this occasion, you will study data before, during and after the eclipse to continue investigating the secrets of the Moon.
“We are checking that it is not easy to land on the moon. It is necessary to know in detail the surface conditions before sending astronauts to certain points of the satellite, ”Martos said.
Beyond the eclipse, this Thursday night will also be an opportunity to observe Jupiter and Mars “perfectly with the naked eye”, although it is not related to astronomical alignment, he clarified.
Next year, in 2026, another total eclipse is expected, but this time it will be solar and can be observed better from Europe.
“When a solar eclipse occurs, the moon is between the sun and the earth, so our planet passes through its shadow. If you see a total solar eclipse, it’s like seeing the shadow of the moon moving on the ground, ”he said.