PAGASA: Solar eclipse visible in PHL May 21

The Philippines will be among the lucky countries that can see an annular (or ring) solar eclipse on May 21, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. PAGASA said the eclipse will also be visible in China, most of Russia, Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Hawaii, Arctic regions and most of North America. “In the Philippines, the event will be observed as a partial solar eclipse,” PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said on PAGASA’s astronomical diary for May. He said a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, totally or partially obscuring the image of the Sun as viewed from the Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun, causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring), blocking most of the Sun’s light. Servando said an annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region thousands of kilometers wide. Planets visible Meanwhile, Servando said most of the planets will be visible in the sky this May. He said Mercury will be found at about 10 degrees above the eastern horizon at the beginning of the month before sunrise. It will continue to move down the horizon until it will no longer be available for observation on May 21 and onward. Uranus and Neptune will be visible before sunrise throughout the month. Both planets will be found at the east southeastern horizon and will lie among the background stars of the constellations Pisces and Aquarius, respectively. Jupiter will be visible low in the eastern horizon during the last week of the month before sunrise. Mars will be found overhead during the month an hour after sunset. Saturn will be located at about 45 degrees above the east southeastern horizon. Venus, the bright evening star will be found at about 26 degrees above the west northwestern horizon during the first week of the month. It will continue to move downward the horizon. — LBG, GMA News