Countdown begins to longest-ever lunar eclipse

Friday will turn into a day to remember, as the world will witness the longest lunar eclipse to date, which will last for an hour and forty-five minutes.

According to CNN, the moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and Earth, with the moon in the middle of the Earth and the sun.

Coupled with this, star-gazers across the world will also get a chance to witness a deep red Blood Moon, a situation that occurs when the moon is perfectly eclipsed and appears reddish due to the sunlight.

"The Moon is not always in perfect alignment with the Sun and the Earth, so that is why we do not get a lunar eclipse every lunar cycle. You will see the sunrise and sunset of the Earth lighting up the surface of the Moon -- over 350,000 km away. If you were on the Moon, you would see a total solar eclipse as the Earth would be blocking the Sun," CNN quoted Brad Tucker, an astronomer with the Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, as saying

The eclipse will be visible all across the globe, except for North America.

It can best be viewed from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and Asia.