PAGASA dismisses as hoax 3-day total darkness due to photon belt

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has quashed as a hoax social media posts warning that the Earth will experience three days of total darkness as it passes through "photon belts” on April 8.

PAGASA said there is no scientific evidence to support such claims. 

“Astronomers have not observed any evidence of a band of high-energy photons surrounding the Milky Way galaxy. It is said that when the Earth passes through this belt, it triggers various transformative effects, both physical and spiritual,” the agency said in a press statement. 

“However, there is no scientific proof to support this theory,” it said. 

According to PAGASA, the scientific community considers the Photon Belt as pseudoscience, and the notion of “Earth's movement through the Photon Belt producing any substantial transformations to our planet is not substantiated by any known laws of physics”.

“This idea originated within the New Age and metaphysical circles, and as such, lacks scientific evidence and is considered pseudoscientific by the scientific community,” it said. 

A total solar eclipse dubbed as the Great North American Eclipse will occur on April 8 but it will not be visible in the Philippines. 

“The totality of the solar eclipse will be visible in a narrow strip on the Pacific Ocean passing 200 nm north of the Marquesas Islands and later in North America, beginning at the Pacific Coast, then ascending in a north-easterly direction through Mexico, the United States, and Canada, before ending in the Atlantic Ocean,” it said.

“During a total eclipse, some areas in the mentioned places will experience temporary darkness caused by the moon passing in front of the sun,” PAGASA added. —NB, GMA Integrated News