Rare ‘blood moon’ not visible in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The rare “blood moon” total lunar eclipse that will happen today will not be visible in the Philippines, according to the state weather bureau.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) yesterday said it will be daylight in the country during the rare astronomical phenomenon.

The blood moon eclipse is visible in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Western Asia, based on a map released by timeanddate.com.

Also known as the super blood moon or the harvest moon eclipse, the event is a combination of two astronomical phenomena: the supermoon and the total lunar eclipse.

A supermoon, or a perigee full moon, happens around once every year, according to the United States-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It occurs when the full moon is in its closest position to the earth.

“There’s no physical difference in the moon,” NASA’s deputy project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Noah Petro said in a feature released on the agency’s website.

“It just appears slightly bigger in the sky. It’s not dramatic, but it does look larger,” he added.

A total lunar eclipse, meanwhile, occurs “when the earth’s shadow swallows up the moon as the planet comes between the sun and the moon.”

Today, a total lunar eclipse will happen while the full moon is in its closest position to the planet, thus the rare combination of the two astronomical events.

The last supermoon eclipse happened in 1982 and will happen again in 2033.

Those in areas where the event will not be visible may watch the livestream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8 a.m. on Monday, Manila time).