The night sky on the night of the longest lunar eclipse of the century — 27 July 2018
On the evening of 27 July 2018 the Moon passed almost through the centre of the Earth's shadow, giving a total lunar eclipse with 1 hour 43 minutes of totality — the longest of the 21st century. It was seen from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The same night Mars was at opposition, shining brightly near the red Moon.
The sky over Rome, Italy
This is the real sky above Rome, Italy (41.90°N, 12.50°E) on 27 July 2018 at 22:21 CEST (UTC+2) — the middle of the eclipse (2018-07-27 20:21 UTC). The Sun was 17° below the horizon: twilight was fading and the stars were coming out. The Moon (full, 100% lit) was 17° up in the south-east. Planets above the horizon: Venus (1° in the west), Mars (11° in the south-east), Jupiter (21° in the south-west) and Saturn (25° in the south). Brightest named stars up: Arcturus, Vega, Altair, Spica and Antares.
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