Astronomy enthusiasts are always keen on observing the celestial events that occur in the sky. One of the most anticipated events is the lunar eclipse at the end of July. It is going to be the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century. On July 27, Friday, the moon will appear a little reddish, thus called the Blood Moon. Stargazers from around the world will be able to witness the once in a lifetime event. Blood Moon 2018 in India: Best Time and How to Watch The Century's Longest Lunar Eclipse From Indian Cities?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, moon and the Sun are aligned in one line and the moon gets covered entirely in the Earth's shadow. Like every major celestial event, there is also a doomsday prediction for the lunar eclipse 2018.

Here are some facts about the Longest Lunar Eclipse 2018:

  • The Blood Moon 2018 on July 27 will be the second lunar eclipse of this year after Super Blue Blood Eclipse on January 31, 2018.

  • The total lunar eclipse of 2018 will last for 1 hour and 43 minutes. And the entire eclipse in all the phases will be for about  6 hours 14 minutes.

  • The next appearance of such a long eclipse will be another 18 years later. It will be on August 6 or 7, 2036 and last for 6  hours and 12 minutes in totality.

  • An eclipse which lasted that long was on July 16, 2000. It was just three minutes longer than the one occurring this month. It lasted for 46 minutes and 24s.

  • The longer duration of the Blood Moon will be due to the earth going to the farthest point from the Sun at the time of the eclipse, making its shadow wider.

Have you made any plans from where you'd witness the celestial spectacle? You sure would not want to miss this one.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2018 09:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).