The moon will turn red on Friday, during the longest lunar eclipse this century

The blood moon is coming

The current heat burning up the UK – and most of the world, really – might feel a bit apocalyptic. But the skies are about to get even more ominous, as a crimson blood moon will appear at the end of the week. The red variant of our only natural satellite will show its colours on Friday, turning from its normal friendly silver-grey, during the longest lunar eclipse of the 21^st century. The effect is caused by the sun’s rays being filtered by the Earth’s atmosphere, meaning that red light hits the surface of the Moon. And the whole moody effect will be amplified by Mars appearing directly below it, boosting its brightness. Not only that, Jupiter will also be visible on Friday, alongside the International Space Station. The movement is set to start at 6.14pm UK time, with the blood moon itself starting at 8.30pm and lasting until 10.13pm. That's an hour and 43 minutes in total. We previously had a blood moon back in January.