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Pagasa: Partial solar eclipse due January 15


Two weeks after a partial lunar eclipse occurred last New Year’s Day, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of the Philippines on Friday, January 15, even as stargazers will have until this coming Thursday to watch the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said this year’s solar eclipse will be the longest since 1992. “In the Philippines, the event will be observed as a partial solar eclipse," Pagasa said in its astronomical diary, adding the eclipse will be visible from a track that goes across central Africa, the Indian Ocean and eastern Asia. The maximum eclipse occurs in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but the annular phase will still be seen from either Africa or Asia. Pagasa said the eclipse can be seen between 7:45 and 9:45 a.m., depending on one’s location. An expected schedule of the partial eclipse from Pagasa’s website is as follows: * Metro Manila, 3:49 to 5:51 p.m., maximum eclipse 4:53 p.m. * Calayan Island, 3:45 to 5:58 p.m., maximum 4:56 p.m. * Laoag, 3:45 to 5:57 p.m., maximum 5:55 p.m. * Tuguegarao, 3:47 to 5:55 p.m., maximum 4:55 p.m. * Baguio, 3:46 to 5:54 p.m., maximum 4:54 p.m. * San Fernando, Pampanga, 3:47 to 5:52 p.m., maximum 4:54 p.m. * Puerto Princesa, Palawan, 3:49 to 5:43 p.m., maximum 4:49 p.m. * Lucena City, Quezon, 3:50 to 5:49 p.m., maximum 4:53 p.m. * Legazpi City, Albay, 3:55 to 5:46 p.m., maximum 4:54 p.m. * Iloilo, 3:56 to 5:42 p.m., maximum 4:52 p.m. * Cebu, 3:59 to 5:39 p.m., maximum 4:52 p.m. * Zamboanga, 4:01 to 5:32 p.m., maximum 4:49 p.m. * Jolo, Sulu, 4 to 5:30 p.m., maximum 4:47 p.m. * Davao, 4:09 to 5:28 p.m., maximum 4:50 p.m. * General Santos City, 4:11 to 5:25 p.m., maximum 4:49 p.m. Meteor shower Meanwhile, stargazers will have until Thursday to watch the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, but state astronomers said the phenomenon will peak until Monday. However, Pagasa said the moon may affect visibility of the meteor shower. "The waning gibbous Moon may affect visual observation of its peak activity on January 3 and 4, in which meteors or 'shooting stars' can be seen at the rate of at least 40 per hour," Pagasa head Prisco Nilo said in Pagasa's astronomical diary. Pagasa said the shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Bootes. It said the Quadrantid meteor shower hits the Earth’s atmosphere at the rate of about 40 kilometers per second. The incinerated dust are said to be particles apparently derived from the debris ejected by the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH, it added. According to Spaceweather.com, the Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the year's best, producing more than 100 meteors per hour from a radiant near the North Star. But it said this year, the shower peaks on Jan. 3, and the timing favors observers in western North America and across the Pacific Ocean. "Although the Quadrantids are a major shower, they are seldom observed. One reason is weather. The shower peaks in early January when northern winter is in full swing. Storms and cold tend to keep observers inside. Last year, NASA scientists went to extremes to gain a good view; they flew an airplane above the clouds and over the Arctic Circle where they saw many," it said. - LBG, GMANews.TV

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