Moon by Ingrid Morales
The total eclipse of the moon that occurred on Sunday night was observed throughout America, much of Europe and East Africa, where people were able to enjoy the so-called “Red Moon.”
The western sector of the Central and Pacific Valleys of the country had a privileged location to observe the astronomical show. That is, the western sector of Alajuela, Grecia, Atenas and Orotina and also on the Pacific coast, such as Jacó, Puntarenas, Quepos, Guanacaste and Golfito.
The eclipse began on Sunady at 10:40 pm and ended a few minutes before midnight and, of course, Ticos used the opportunity to take pictures.
It is worth mentioning that what happened this Sunday was the passage of the Moon, through the shadow the Earth projects. Lunar eclipses always occur in the full moon and most of the time it is not possible to see the phenomenon due to the inclination of the Moon’s orbit with respect to that of the Earth. However, sometimes the Moon crosses the Earth’s shadow and it is possible to see it.
Erick Sánchez, technician of the Planetarium of the UCR, explained the striking effect in a lunar eclipse is the so-called “Red Moon”, which occurs because the atmosphere of the Earth scatters a little sunlight towards the interior of the shadow itself, especially in the Red and orange components.