RP’s lunar eclipse in 2007 seen on March 4

A total lunar eclipse will be seen in the Philippines on March 4.

Dr. Bernardo Soriano, space science chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa), said a total lunar eclipse usually happens once every two years.

On March 4, the total lunar eclipse will be visible before sunrise, he added.

Soriano said a lunar eclipse occurs during a full moon when the Earth is between the sun and the moon so that the shadow of the Earth falls on the moon.

Anything that happens in space can be seen in the country in different phases, he added.

In its website, the Astronomical League of the Philippines (ALP) said the eclipse will also be visible in most of Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America.

"The eclipse will be an early evening event on March 3 for most of the Americas while the Asia, Europe and Africa will have an early morning event on March 4," the ALP said.

However, the ALP said Filipinos would only see a partial phase of the eclipse as the moon will set at around 6:13 a.m. (Philippine Standard Time) midway toward totality, which will be around 6:44 a.m. PST.

During the partial phases, it takes just over an hour for the moon’s orbital motion to carry it entirely within the Earth’s dark umbra, the league added.

Reports said all total eclipses start with a penumbral eclipse, followed by a partial eclipse then a penumbral eclipse again, which usually lasts nearly three and a half hours.

The penumbra, a Latin word meaning "for almost-shadow," is the portion of a shadow that results from the source of illumination being only partially blocked.

The umbra, Latin for "shadow," is the darkest part of a shadow. From within the umbra, the source of light is completely blocked by the object causing the shadow.

The penumbral eclipse would start at 4:16 a.m., while umbra starts at 5:30 a.m., according to ALP’s website. – Helen Flores