The penumbral lunar eclipse will be observed on January 11 as the third astronomical event in 2020, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stated.
PAGASA local chief Sonny Pajarilla said Monday that the penumbral lunar eclipse could be expected at 1:05 a.m., however, unlike the recent annular solar eclipse last month, the upcoming eclipse will only produce a shadow on the moon.
“Ang penumbral ay hindi naman talaga dumadaan ng buohan, natatakpan kasi kapag moon ay lunar eclipse. Ito ay bahagi lang, shadow lang ng Earth. ‘Yong shadow lang ang dadaan sa Earth kaya hindi totally covered,” he said.
Based on the weather bureau’s astronomical diary for January 2020, the penumbral lunar eclipse follows the other astronomical events which are “Moon at apogee” and “Mercury at super conjunction” on January 2 and 10.
A penumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the moon moves through the outer part of Earth’s shadow. This occurs when the sun, Earth, and the moon are imperfectly aligned.
The Earth blocks some of the sunlight from directly reaching the moon’s surface and covers all or part of the moon with the outer part of its shadow called the penumbra.
“Ang penumbral nakalihis ‘yan pero ang shadow ang nakakatakip doon sa isang object sa kabila, sa likod so shadow siya. Pwede makita ‘yan at maobserbahan ng mga kababayan but don’t expect na total covered ‘yan. Matatakpan siya ng ulap pero makikita mo pa rin ang buwan,” he said.
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