The total solar eclipse expected on April 8 (Monday) will not be visible in the Philippines, the state weather bureau said.
This year’s path of totality is about 115 miles wide. It begins in western Mexico, arches up through the US cities of Dallas,
Indianapolis, and Buffalo, before ending in eastern Canada.
Astronomer Nico Mendoza of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said solar eclipses occur roughly four times a year.
During the April 8 solar eclipse, however, it would be nighttime in the Philippines.
“Because the moon is on the western side, essentially, that’s where the solar eclipse can only be seen,” Mendoza said.
The next total solar eclipse in the Philippines is set to happen on April 20, 2042, and it will be visible from Legazpi City, PAGASA said.
The state weather bureau also dismissed speculations of a three-day darkness as false and lacking scientific evidence.
“This is a hoax… There is no scientific evidence to support its existence, and its origins are unclear… There is no scientific proof to support this theory,” PAGASA said.
Almost all the United States will get to experience a partial eclipse on April 8.
Several airlines have advertised flights scheduled to pass under the eclipse, while Delta has even planned two special trips along the path of totality, the first of which sold out in 24 hours, the company said.
NASA, however, warned that only in the path of totality – and onlyduring the few minutes of the actual totality – is it safe to look at the eclipse without eye protection.
NASA recently highlighted several studies being planned for theeclipse, from effects on Earth’s atmosphere and animal behavior to even human psychology.
“Eclipses have a special power,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said recently.
“They move people to feel a kind of reverence for the beauty of our universe.” With AFP