Space and Astronomy Fans in Puerto Rico were excited, in the early hours of this Friday, before the call “Blood moon.”
It was at about 2:26 am when Puerto Ricans at different points around the island raised their eyes to the sky to observe an event that was not noticeable in Puerto Rico from 2022 and that will not be repeated until 2029.
At that moment, the full moon was shown in all its splendor and, As if it were paint on a canvas, a reddish orange hue began to monopolize the surface of the natural sadelite. It was a rainy day, but some people had the joy of witnessing this show of the cosmos.
“Much of the west and southern region of the island could appreciate the eclipse,” he told The new day the vice president of the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC), Eddie Irizarry Robles.
“Between 2:26 am and 3:31 am it could be seen very well that, in effect, at this time it was that the entire eclipse was happening because it was when the darker and reddish orange was seen the moon,” he said.
The last time the Puerto Ricans could enjoy a lunar eclipse Total was three years ago. When comparing the event this morning with that of 2022, Irizarry Robles said Perhaps, on this occasion, the moon looked a little darker because of the fact that it was farther from the earth than during the previous eclipse.
However, that perception of darkness paid to the fact that the stars surrounding the natural satellite looked brighter.
Even more curious was the fact that during this event, fans not only managed to observe the eclipse from Earth, but also A robotic ship that recently descended in the satellite showed the perspective of the event from the lunar surface.
“It happens that the ship called ‘Blue Ghost’ He managed to capture images while the eclipse was happening from the perspective of the moon. It was very curious to see how the earth covered the sun, ”shared the scientific disseminator.
Although some areas of Puerto Rico experienced heavy rains and cloudy skies at the time of all, the vice president of the entity stressed that “There was much interest of the public to observe this event.”
In fact, the SAC made a live broadcast in which several people connected to appreciate how the event was seen from the island.
Irrizarry Robles shared that, to his surprise, the transmission was being seen by people from other distant places such as Argentina, Alaska and even A person aboard a flight to Madrid, Spain.
“We know that there were areas where it was unfortunately very cloudy. But the good thing is that the transmission we do because it remains available for people who want to see it, ”said the Vice President of the SAC by inviting people to relive the moment.
The scientific disseminator had anticipated that this eclipse would coincide with A slight meteor rain called ‘gamma standards’ and confirmed that some were seen during the event.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) details that a lunar eclipse occurs When the SunEarth and Moon They align in such a way that the planet obstructs the sunlight that illuminates the satellite.
Why does the moon become red during a lunar eclipse?
According to NASA, The same phenomenon that causes the sky to look blue and the sunsets look red is the one that causes the moon to be observed in a reddish orange color during a lunar eclipse.
The federal agency explains that sunlight looks white, but actually contains a rainbow of components. When the sun is high on a clear day, the blue light is dispersed throughout the sky.
1/15 | An astronomical show: thus the “blood moon” was seen around the world. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, the earth and the sun align. Thus began to see the moon from Chicago when the event started. – Kiichiro Sato
When it dawns and sunset and the sun is close to the horizon, sunlight then travels a longer path at a low angle through the atmosphere of the earth. According to NASA, the most blue part of sunlight is dispersed in the distance and “Only the part of the spectrum that goes from yellow to red comes to our eyes. ”
NASA explained that, during a lunar eclipse, the satellite looks red or orange because the sunlight that is not blocked by the planet is filtered by a thick portion of the atmosphere of the earth.