Clouds may spoil lunar eclipse view

Sorry guys, but there probably won’t be a full view of Saturday night’s spectacular lunar eclipse, weathermen said.

Cloudy weather with rain showers and thunderstorms threatens to spoil an otherwise clear view of the total lunar eclipse that unfolds at around 10 p.m. Saturday.  “If you have this kind of weather, viewing is impossible,” said Dario dela Cruz, chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) space sciences and astronomy section. “The chance is slim that we can view it.”

If not for the weather, Filipinos would have had a crack at observing a rare lunar eclipse, estimated to last 51 minutes, from any part of the archipelago—without the need for special instruments.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is completely immersed in the umbra of the Earth’s shadow. The last total lunar eclipse was on June 16.

Stargazers and sky watchers can only hope for a break in the cloudy weather to get a glimpse of the eclipse.

The eclipse begins at 7:33 p.m. Saturday Philippine Standard Time and ends 1:30 a.m. Sunday. As the moon starts to darken, partial eclipse begins at around 8:45 p.m., according to Pagasa.

The total eclipse begins at 10:06 p.m. and ends at 10:57 p.m. and the greatest eclipse, when the moon is darkest, takes place at around 10:31 p.m.

Lunar eclipses are safe to watch, and observers don’t need protective filters for the eyes. A pair of binoculars could magnify the view, Pagasa said.

“It’s nice to watch it because it rarely happens. With this weather, however, we will have a problem viewing it. Let’s just hope there will be a break in the cloudiness,” Dela Cruz said by phone.