Solar, lunar eclipses visible in PH this March

Sky watchers may look out for a partial solar eclipse and penumbral lunar eclipse this month, the state weather bureau said.

In an advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that Mindanao will have a good view of the partial solar eclipse that will take place on March 9.

“The Mindanao areas will have a good view of the partial solar eclipse, having an eclipse obscuration of up to 80 percent while the Luzon and the Visayas areas’ eclipse obscuration ranges from 30 to 60 percent and 60 to 70 percent respectively,” Pagasa said.

An eclipse obscuration is defined as the fraction of the Sun’s surface area occulted or covered by the moon.

Meanwhile, a total solar eclipse is scheduled on March 9 and it will be visible from a track that goes across East Asia, North and West Australia and Oceania.

A solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, which totally or partially dims the image of the Sun as viewed from the Earth.

The penumbral eclipse of the moon, on the other hand, will occur on March 23 and will be visible at 5:37 p.m. and will end at 9:57 p.m.

Pagasa said a penumbral eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the faint penumbral portion of the earth’s shadow. A penumbra is defined as the partially shaded outer region of a shadow that an object casts. RAM

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