Eventhough there were clouds last night, the 1st Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of the year was seen in different places in the Philippines.
Pagasa said the eclipse begins when the Moon enters penumbra at 8:36 p.m. and ends the following morning at 12:39 a.m.
There are three kinds of lunar eclipse, the penumbra, partial and total eclipse.
A penumbra refers to a partially shaded outer region of a shadow that an object casts. A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the faint penumbral portion of the Earth’s shadow, Pagasa said.
According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this event is the deepest penumbral eclipse in 2009, with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899.
This event was also observed in Alaska, Australia, eastern Asia, Hawaii, New Zealand and the western parts of Canada and the United States.
Filipino astronomy enthusiasts can also look forward to several celestial events this year – other penumbral lunar eclipses will happen on July 7 and Aug. 6; a total solar eclipse on July 22 and a partial lunar eclipse on Dec. 31.