Cosmic Show

[Anchor Lead]

Early Saturday morning, Korean will be able to see a spectacular cosmic show, where they can see the so-called "blood moon" and Mars at the same time. A total lunar eclipse and Mars' nearest approach to Earth in 15 years are taking place at the same time. Tomorrow, people will be able to spot Mars about seven times larger than at ordinarily.

[Pkg]

Part of the full moon is enveloped in a shadow. Before you know it, the color changes into bloody red. This phenomenon is called a "blood moon." It occurs when the whole moon enters the Earth's shadow and the planet's atmosphere filters out most of the sun's blue light, making the moon look red. The lunar eclipse last January was a worldwide sensation, for the "super moon" and "blood moon" phenomena occurred simultaneously. The world will be able to see a total lunar eclipse again tomorrow morning. This time, people can see Mars making its closest approach to Earth in 15 years. Starting Friday afternoon, the sun, Earth and Mars will be aligned. That total eclipse will take place for about an hour and 40 minutes, from 3:24 AM on Saturday until the moon sets at 5:37 AM. At the same time, Mars would make its nearest approach to Earth, with only 57 million kilometers separating the two planets. It is only one-seventh of the farthest distance, but Mars would look seven times bigger and 16 times brighter.

[Soundbite] Dr. Park Han-eol(Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) : "A celestial body that glows red in the southeastern skies at 10 PM would be Mars."

The next great approach of Mars is expected to be in 2035. But it doesn't commonly take place at the same time with a total lunar eclipse, which is why people are so looking forward to Saturday's spectacular show in space.