This Friday there will be a total eclipse of the moon. The eclipse will be total in much of Africa, the Middle East, and India, while Europe, the rest of Asia and most of South America will see a partial eclipse. Those of us in North America will miss it all. The total eclipse of the moon is called a “Blood Moon” because light refracting from Earth gives moon’s surface a reddish glow. This Blood Moon will also be the longest, so far, in the 21st century, at 1 hour and 43 minutes of total eclipse.  The entire eclipse, including the partial phases, will last for over 6 hours.

And that’s not all. Mars will be in opposition on Friday as well. That is to say, that earth will be directly between Mars and the Sun on early Friday morning. Mars is near to its closest approach to the Earth so it will appear to be slightly larger than normal. As Mars should be just below the full Moon, it will be easy to spot as a red light in the sky. It will not, however, as has been reported on the Internet, be as large as the full Moon, or even close. (Shockingly, not everything you see on the internet is true.) 

Oh, and by the way, some are predicting that Friday’s Blood Moon will mark the end of the world. Again. (Here is an incomplete list of past end of the world predictions.) I am not planning on canceling my weekend plans, however.