Blood Moon eclipse to be seen on a cloudy Oct. 8

CEBU, Philippines -  If the sky is clear on Wednesday, October 8, Cebuanos will get to witness the total lunar eclipse expected to be seen too in some parts of the globe at 4:14 p.m. (Philippine time) as the moon rises, until 9:35 p.m.

The greatest eclipse will occur at 6:55 p.m.

“Makikita natin ang total lunar eclipse talaga kung clear ang sky,” said Jhomar Eclarino, weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.

Metro Cebu, however, will experience partly cloudy skies with rainshowers and thunderstorm on Wednesday, said Eclarino.

  During the five-hour, 44 minute-long eclipse, the Moon will pass south of the center of the earth’s shadow. As a result, the northern part of the Moon will be noticeably darker than the southern part.

This eclipse is the second in a series of four so-called Blood Moon eclipses, or what the total lunar eclipse is also called as the moon turns red during this phenomenon.

  The eclipse will be visible in the North and South America, Pacific Ocean region, including Australia, New Zealand and eastern Asia. These places will have a good position to watch the rare occurrence.

The first total lunar eclipse took place last April 15 this year. After October 8, subsequent eclipses will take place on April 4, 2015 and on September 28, 2015.

The lunar year series repeats after 12 cycles, or 354 days, causing a date shift when compared to the solar calendar. This shift means that the earth’s shadow will move about 11 degrees west in each subsequent eclipse.

The next series will be from 2032 to 2033, starting in April. —NSA (FREEMAN)