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On the night of July 27-28, two rare astronomical phenomena will be observed in the sky above the Earth: the great opposition of Mars and the central total moon eclipse.

Great oppositions of Mars or full Mars, when the red planet approaches the Earth at a minimum distance, can be seen once every 15 or 17 years. This time Mars and Earth will approach each other at a distance of 56 - 58 million kilometers.

In addition, the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow and the eclipse this time will last 1 hour 43 minutes. Only six such long eclipses have occurred in the current century. The fact that both of these rare phenomena occur on the same date is a completely unique coincidence.

At 23:21 (Moscow time) Mars and the Moon will be very close to each other. The distance between them will be only six degrees. As a result, both luminaries will acquire a reddish tint.

Lunar eclipses occur during a full moon, when the Sun, Earth and its satellite line up and the Earth casts a shadow on the surface of the Moon. On the night of July 27-28, the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow, and then will be near the apogee (the point of the lunar orbit farthest from the Earth). Thus, the duration of the total eclipse will be 1 hour 43 minutes.

By the middle of the lunar eclipse, astrologers promise, bright Mars will shine very close to the moon, which will overcome the point of opposition 15 hours before. If the eclipse is very dark, then Mars will help you find the Earth’s satellite in the sky, which that night will shine brighter than all the stars in the sky, and the Moon will be located directly above it.

At 00:13 full eclipse will enter the final phase, the Moon will begin to emerge from the shadow of the Earth, showing its edge to the light. Gradually, the crescent of the Moon will increase and at 20:11 the partial eclipse will end: the satellite will completely emerge from the Earth's shadow and begin to emerge from the Earth's penumbra. The total duration of the shadow eclipse is 3 hours 55 minutes.

As the head of the research department of the Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium previously told Politics Today Nikolay Lapin, a lunar eclipse will occur on a specific day and at a specific time, and the Great Opposition of Mars will be observed for several weeks. This will make it possible to observe the polar caps of carbon dioxide on Mars through a telescope.

The eclipse will be clearly visible in countries East Africa, Central and South Asia, as well as Antarctica. Residents of the European part of Russia will also be able to see the eclipse.

A rare coincidence in last time took place in 1830. It is still unknown when these events will occur on the same day again. The next total lunar eclipse, which will be fully visible in Russia, will not occur until September 7, 2025, and the Great Opposition of Mars is expected only on September 16, 2035.

Since the beginning of summer, reports began to appear on the Internet that at the end of August Mars will approach the Earth at a record close distance. Official confirmation astrophysicists did not give it, but the news confidently circulated on the Internet for more than one week. We decided to find out whether this is true or just another online fake, and also tried to find out what kind of unique cosmic phenomenon this is with impossible beautiful name"The Great Confrontation of Mars"?

According to unverified Internet sources, Mars is about to get so close to Earth that a double moon can be seen with the naked eye. The approach is promised on the night of August 27 - at midnight. The time zone, by the way, is not specified in the messages. The next time, according to “experts,” a similar cosmic event will occur in 2287. “To the naked eye, the planet will be visible as a full moon. It will look like two moons above the Earth,” some social network users write, while others actively “repost” these posts.

However, are these data true?

By the way, those who are waiting for the “approach of Mars” have ardent opponents who ridicule this “news.” Their main argument is that news of the approaching “multi-moon” appears on the Internet with enviable frequency every August. Indeed, people first started talking about this unusual phenomenon at the end of the summer of 2003. Since then, “Mars is coming” with enviable regularity.

We decided to turn to specialists for clarification.

Astronomer Pavel Skripnichenko immediately stated that the “news” about the approaching unique phenomenon, when two moons can be observed in the sky, is fake.

“The fact is that the orbit is not circular. From time to time the planets are closer or further away. This is a common occurrence and happens regularly,” Pavel explained. — The approach, called the opposition of Mars, occurs once every year and a half. There is still a Great Controversy. This is when the planets are as close as possible. The Great Controversy happens about once every hundred years. There is nothing supernatural or fantastic in this.”

Impressed by the photos floating around the internet, we asked if the Mars opposition really looks like two moons in the sky.

“This is all untrue. These pictures are fiction. Mars looks like an orange or red star,” Pavel said. “It’s hard to confuse him with any star.”

The astronomer explained that on the day of Mars’s opposition, or rather at night, it is visible even without special equipment. Of course, we asked where and how this phenomenon could be observed.

“In cases of opposition of Mars, no special equipment is required,” Pavel said. — The planet is visible to the naked eye. The main thing is that it is cloudless. You need to drive a little away from the city. Closer to midnight you need to look south. Mars is difficult to confuse with another planet. If you have a telescope, you can see the polar caps and details on the surface.”

But, unfortunately, the last approximation. The same confrontation of Mars took place in May 2016, and the next one, according to the website astrobel.ru, will take place on July 27, 2018. However, for those who are in the mood for romance and planning to spend the night with their eyes on the sky, we have some good news. The fact is that by the end of summer visibility becomes almost perfect. The atmosphere becomes transparent, so even an amateur telescope is able to convey the nuances of the starry sky.

After the news about the starfall in August 2016, many of our readers began to take an active interest in other beautiful cosmic phenomena. So, we often see questions about when two moons will be visible in 2016. Therefore, we decided to pay attention to this event and are publishing a small material about two moons in August. Do not miss!

In addition, what should not be done on the full moon in August 2016, our readers are interested in information about when two moons will be visible, because to capture this unusual phenomenon everyone wants it. We are generally silent about selfies against the backdrop of two moons :) Therefore, continue reading about the two moons of 2016.

For several years now, there have been rumors in scientific circles that on August 27, 2016, two moons will be clearly visible. The thing is that on the night of August 27, Mars will approach the Earth at a record close distance, as a result of which its apparent size will become similar to the size of the Moon.

True, we do not recommend getting so excited about this news. For those who are expecting the two moons to be visible on August 27 in the enormous size shown in the picture, we are sorry to inform you that this phenomenon occurs in a slightly different way. So, Mars will not shine as well as the Moon, which means that on August 27, two moons are a small dot (Mars) against the background of the Moon, since the brightness of the red planet will be 10 thousand weaker than the brightness of the full Moon.

Why such increased interest in the question of when there will be two moons in 2016? The fact is that back in 2003 big number People around the world received notification by mail that on August 27, the red planet, when viewed without special equipment, will appear larger than the full Moon.

It is important that the distance from the Earth to the Moon is almost 384 thousand kilometers, which is seven times greater than the distance to Mars noted in the message, which should be on August 27. The minimum distance from Earth to Mars - the so-called Great Oppositions - is at least 50 million kilometers, which is thousands of times greater than the distance indicated in the newsletter.

It is known that once every two years Mars reaches a point in its orbit called “opposition.” This means that the Red Planet is opposite the Sun, and when viewed from Earth, that Mars is opposite the Sun. And this event always causes unprecedented excitement. Therefore, millions of people around the world are eager to see the two moons in the sky on August 27, 2016.

Why such increased interest in the question of when there will be two moons in 2016? The fact is that back in 2003, a large number of people around the world received a notification by mail that on August 27, the red planet, when viewed without special equipment, would appear larger than the full Moon.

We are waiting for two moons in the sky 2016 photos from amateurs cosmic phenomena. Wait for new posts on this topic, but for now we recommend reading up-to-date information about .

We remind you that more interesting facts about events and extraordinary people you can read in our special section "".

This year too, Russians want to see “two moons” in the sky - a phenomenon that could be observed back in 2003. But, as Maxim Khovrichev, a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences and a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Astrometry and Stellar Astronomy at the Pulkovo Observatory, told Metro, “two Moons” will not appear in the sky either on May 27, 2016, or on August 27.

“These rumors most likely arose due to the fact that the following facts were mixed,” the interlocutor explains to Metro. “Traditionally, every year on August 27, we are promised Mars the size of the Moon. This happens for the following reason. People often assume that all phenomena are repeated annually. That is, the same location heavenly bodies must be repeated every year. This is wrong. And the myth about “two moons” in the sky has existed for many years. Back in 2003 there was a great Mars opposition. This phenomenon occurred on August 27th. One of the journalists, when translating a foreign text, did not take into account that their distances are written differently from ours. In a foreign article, commas separate the digits, but in our case the integer part is separated from the fractional part. Instead of 58 million kilometers, it became 58 thousand kilometers to Mars. And the “literate” journalist, recalculating, was surprised that the planet would seem three times larger than the Moon. And so everyone was invited to watch the “two moons” on August 27th. And so every year - first everyone writes, and then this rumor is persistently debunked, but it is persistently repeated. It’s like a meme on the Internet that lives on and on for decades.”

And “August 27” became “May 27,” most likely because on May 22 there was an opposition of Mars, not a great one, but before it. The Great Opposition of Mars will be in 2018, when this object will be at its brightest in the night sky. But on May 30, 2016, the minimum distance to Mars will be about 75 million km. That is, the planet can be observed as a bright star.

As the expert summed up, most likely the opposition of Mars in 2003 “migrated” to the current one. It is possible that such things are deliberately created to “entertain the public.”

“There is a lot of information on the Internet now, but there is not enough experience,” notes Maxim Khovrchiev. “But I want to try to see “something interesting.”

According to a senior researcher at the Planetarium, even without “far-fetched facts,” there is now something to rejoice at: Mars is paired with Saturn. If you find an area free of buildings, or climb onto the roof of a high-rise building, you will see this phenomenon in St. Petersburg.

“I remember we observed this phenomenon at the Planetarium - it was literally level with the spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress. From the Planetarium to the Peter and Paul Fortress is literally 600 meters. And so - all this week there are a lot of interesting daytime observations. Just recently we observed a sunspot almost as big as Neptune. A wonderful sight! With the help of black glass, anyone could see it."