Images: Gtresonline
The month of July leaves us two very interesting astronomical events for sky lovers. The first was the eclipse of the sun on July 2; the second, the partial lunar eclipse, visible from many parts of the world, including Europe. Probably not as spectacular as the first, but no less interesting and beautiful to watch.
In addition, this event has a very special symbolic character, because it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the takeoff of Apollo XI that led the first astronauts to set foot on its surface.
Those lucky enough to be attentive on the night of Tuesday 16 to Wednesday 17 July have enjoyed spectacular views, some of them from the main monuments of the world heritage, such as the Colosseum in Rome.
In Spain, the partial lunar eclipse began yesterday at 20:44, with the maximum of the eclipse at 23:31, with the Moon located at a height of 15 degrees above our eyes, and it ended at 02: 18 on Wednesday 17.
Some of the most beautiful images of the eclipse collected in this video were taken from cities such as London, Berlin and other German regions such as Bavaria, and Serbia.
Why does a lunar eclipse occur?
Lunar eclipses are an ideal time to study our Sun and Moon, as well as the behavior of Earth’s ecosystems in unusual situations like these.
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth gets in the way of sunlight hitting the Moon. That means that at night, the full moon fades as the shadow of the Earth covers it.
The Moon can also appear reddish because the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs the other colors while bending light from the Sun towards the Moon . In fact, sunlight that passes through the atmosphere and absorbs other colors is also the reason why sunsets are orange and red.
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon shines in all the colors of the sunrises and sunsets that occur on Earth.
Other astronomical events of July
On July 9 we were able to observe Saturn in opposition, with its face fully illuminated by the Sun. That night, the ringed planet was much brighter than at any other time of the year, an ideal time to be studied by astronomers. Also, Between July 28-29: Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower.
