Red moon rising

‘Red moon rising’ on Tuesday

MANILA, Philippines -- Watch for the “Red Moon rising” on Tuesday night, but brace for cloudy weather, too.

A total lunar eclipse will occur today, and -- weather permitting -- will be visible in the Philippines, the United States, the Pacific, eastern Asia and Australasia, the weather bureau said.

The eclipse starts as the moon enters the earth’s penumbra (outer shadow) at 3:52 p.m. An hour later, the moon will enter the earth’s umbra (inner shadow), culminating in a total eclipse at 5:52 p.m.

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon’s disk can take on various colors ranging from bright orange and blood red to dark brown and very dark gray, astronomers said.

Sounds spectacular -- if the band of clouds hovering over the Philippines does not spoil one’s view.

If that happens, the next best option for the stargazing public who want to catch a glimpse of the eclipse is to tune in to National Geographic on cable TV, weather forecaster Robert Rivera said.

“This band of clouds will be predominating for the next five days,” Rivera said, pointing to a satellite image of thick clouds hovering over the Philippines on a computer screen.

“So I suggest they watch the lunar eclipse on National Geographic, the red moon rising, unless there’s a break in the cloudiness,” said Rivera.

Eclipse to last 90 minutes

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorms across the country for Tuesday and the next three days after two low pressure areas swirled into the country’s area of responsibility.

The total eclipse will last for 90 minutes, but the entire process itself will end at 9:22 p.m., according to PAGASA.

“At around 5:50 p.m., the moon’s silvery color will be discolored, and turn into somewhat orange,” weather observer Ruben Cunanan, who mans the PAGASA astronomical observatory at University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, told reporters.

“Since the moon rises at 6:08 p.m., we won’t be able to see the initial phase of the eclipse. By 6:08 p.m., the eclipse is already midway through,” Cunanan said.

Bicolanos will be first

Provinces in the eastern part of the country, like Catanduanes, will be the first to catch a glimpse of the eclipse.

A total lunar eclipse also occurred on March 4 this year.

A lunar eclipse can only take place at full moon, and only if the moon passes through some portion of the earth’s shadow, according to astronomers.

If only part of the moon passes through the umbra, this is considered a partial eclipse. But if the entire moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the moon occurs, they said.

The penumbra or outer shadow is a zone where the earth blocks some, but not all, of the Sun’s rays. The umbra or inner shadow is a region where the earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon, astronomers said.

Weather experts said cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms were expected to prevail over the archipelago until Friday because of the two low pressure areas east of Quezon province and west of southern Luzon.

The light rain falling on Metro Manila was induced by the low pressure area that hit Quezon Monday. The low pressure area swirling over the South China Sea west of southern Luzon is expected to bring rain in the western section of Visayas.

“We will continue to monitor two systems. These will be inducing cloudiness and rainfall for the next 24 hours for the whole country. We expect widespread rain in Southern Luzon, and the western section of Visayas,” Rivera said.

He said the two low pressure areas were showing no signs of intensifying into cyclones.

source: Philippine Daily Inquirer