Blood moon to dominate night sky in longest lunar eclipse of 21st century

A blood moon will dominate the sky across much of the world on Friday night when the Earth's natural satellite moves into the shadow of our planet for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century.

The total eclipse will last 1 hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds, though a partial eclipse precedes and follows, meaning the moon will spend a total of 3 hours and 54 minutes in the earth's umbral shadow, according to NASA.

Across the world, from the Taj Mahal to the Eiffel Tower, people will turn their eyes to the sky, hoping to see the blood moon, which appears orange, brown or crimson as sunlight is bent through the earth's atmosphere.

The fullest eclipse, at 8.22 p.m. GMT, will be visible from Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, much of Asia and Australia.

In Greece, the phenomenon is expected to start at around 10.30 p.m.

"It's called a blood moon...

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