Solar eclipse awes, new moon portends good fish catch

From the rooftop of the Manila Observatory in Ateneo de Manila University in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, the sun seemed to rise from behind the hills of Rizal in the east. Unlike most other sunrises before, the star closest to Planet Earth had a companion as it ascended from the horizon. Astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts in the Philippines and elsewhere on the globe have been waiting for this solar eclipse of May 2012 when the new moon — usually unseen — is revealed because it is in near straight alignment between the Earth and the sun. “The Philippines got only a partial view of the annular solar eclipse because the best annular view was seen up north from southern China, eastern Japan and out at sea before crossing the International Dateline,” astronomer Dr. Edmund Rosales said. He also said that while Metro Manila got a 60 percent to 61 percent partial solar eclipse, residents up in northern Luzon saw the solar eclipse at 70 percent of the sun partially covered. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the solar eclipse's annular view was seen “from within a narrow corridor along Earth's northern Hemisphere -- beginning in eastern Asia, crossing the North Pacific Ocean, and ending in the western United States.” Solar eclipses happen only during the new moon, when its dark side completely faces the Earth. More fish caught in new moon For fisherfolk, this date was May's day of the new moon, when the night sky will be at its darkest  and their catch of fishes from the sea would be significantly more than on most days. Jonathan Dickson, a division chief at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said in a phone interview with GMA News Online that fisherfolk know from experience that their catch on nights of the new moon is greater than on other nights, because the absence of the bright moon makes it easier for them to harvest more fish. Dickson explained that some kinds of fish — small pelagics like sardines, tamban, galunggong, alumahan, hasa-hasa, matang-baka, and dilis - swim close to the surface of the sea. During a full moon, these fish are dispersed because the light of the full moon shines on the sea surface. “But when it is new moon, fishermen use lights to make the fish swim closer together and easier to catch,” Dickson said. He said other fish like the lapu-lapu, bisugo, espada and sapsap swim at greater depths than the small pelagics and are unaffected the the phases of the moon. With larger harvests of fish, Dickson said, the law of demand and supply operates as the selling price of fish drops as supply exceeds demand. 'Wonders of nature' Three Sundays ago, there was another heavenly phenomenon — a supermoon. No, the moon did not acquire any powers beyond those of any ordinary piece of rock floating in space. Astronomers noted that last May 6, the moon was brighter and appeared to be slightly larger because it happened to be — while at full moon — at perigee or at the point closest to Earth three Sundays ago. NASA said the supermoon was 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual. Monday's solar eclipse took place while the moon was at apogee or at the point farthest from the planet. The moon did not completely block out the sun, hence, the annular tag. The next total solar eclipse will be on November 13-14 this year, according to NASA and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Though only a partial eclipse, Monday's astronomical phenomenon still elicited cheers and excitement from many mortals looking at the sky. Ian Mark Allas, a physics teacher at the Quezon City Science High School, told GMA News Online that eclipses make people “appreciate the wonders of nature” and present science-trained people like him the chance to explain to others the science of how and why the sun, planets and other heavenly bodies move through the galaxy and universe. Using a telescope lent by a friend, Allas, together with Josuel Racca and Margie Parinas, recorded images of the solar eclipse. Racca is an alumnus of the Don Alejandro Roces Science and Technology High School in Quezon City while Parinas is an applied physics alumnae of the University of Santo Tomas. Venus in sight Dr. Rosales said the next big astronomical event on June 5 – 6 is special and rarer than eclipses because of the phenomenon called the Transit of Venus, when that planet is seen from Earth as moving across the face of the sun. He also explained how crucial observations of this transit are to astronomy. Rosales said Edmund Halley — after whom the most famous comet was named — and other astronomers generations after him used the triangulation of the distances between the sun, Venus and Earth to compute how large the galaxy is. Rosales also said that the technique of observing the passage of bodies in front of stars is one of the ways astronomers search for planets in galaxies far, far away. “Para tayong naghahanap ng planet. Kapag dumadaan ang planet sa harap ng sun o star iyon ang time na sila ay nakikita,” the astronomer said. He highlighted the fact that this transit occurs at intervals of 121 and a half years, 8 years and 105 years. The last transit was eight years ago in 2004 and the next will be in December 2117. “This Transit of Venus on June 6 in the Philippines will be the last in our lifetime,” Rosales pointed out. Before 2004, the last Transit of Venus was in 1882. Back then, the director of the US Naval Observatory William Harkness wrote: "We are now on the eve of the second transit of a pair, after which there will be no other till the twenty-first century of our era has dawned upon the Earth, and the June flowers are blooming in 2004. When the last transit season occurred the intellectual world was awakening from the slumber of ages, and that wondrous scientific activity which has led to our present advanced knowledge was just beginning. What will be the state of science when the next transit season arrives God only knows. Not even our children's children will live to take part in the astronomy of that day. As for ourselves, we have to do with the present ... " After the June 6 Transit of Venus, scientists and non-scientists alike may also ask: What will the world be in December 2117? - AMD/ELR, GMA News