by Aziz Idris Borneo Bulletin’s Features August 3, 2020
The next time you look up at the night sky and see a blinking star, chances are you are staring at Gumala, a star in the southern constellation of Sagittarius.
Brunei Darussalam was among the 112 countries that took their love for astronomy to the next level when it entered a competition by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to name recently-discovered exoplanets and their stars.
The campaign, dubbed the IAU100 NameExoWorlds, was held to mark the organisationβs 100th year anniversary and attracted over 780,000 entries.
The participants were encouraged to name their celestial objects in their respective languages in conjunction with the United Nationsβ (UNβs) International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Pengiran Mohammad Rezal bin Pengiran Haji Osman drew inspiration from Bruneiβs precious gemstones when naming the star and the exoplanet. PHOTO: AZIZ IDRIS
IAU, the only organisation mandated to name everything in space, said the star was named Gumala and the exoplanet Mastika, thanks to the participation of Bruneian Pengiran Mohammad Rezal bin Pengiran Haji Osman.
First and foremost, congratulations to the Brunei Government, especially the Brunei Climate Change Secretariat (BCCS) for issuing the Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy (BNCCP) recently. We look forward to the Policy as an opportunity to explore further tactics to recover our natural surroundings.
Currently, Comet NEOWISE has generated a lot of public interest, as it is the brightest comet since 1997.
However, watching this supposedly βbrightβ comet β or stargazing in general β is a real challenge in the country.
By Hazarry Haji Ali Ahmad, the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam
Summary: βͺ Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) has survived its closest encounter with the Sun on Sat, July 4, 2020 in its journey through the Solar System βͺ Currently, massive amount of Comet’s dust particles and water are vaporised by the Sun producing very bright coma and long tail which is visible to the naked-eyes βͺ Comet is expected to make it’s appearance in the evening twilight from July 15, 2020 in Brunei Darussalam βͺ Closest approach of Comet NEOWISE to Earth happens on Thursday, Jul 23 2020 at a distance of 0.69 AU, or 104 million km βͺ The comet orbit takes around the sun about 7,000 years, it truly is a once in a lifetime event! βͺ Use this live sky chart to locate the current comet position from our Brunei’s sky βͺ PABD members will scout the comet. Join to share your comet photos from Brunei and latest comet discussion via our Telegram Channel t.me/bruneiastronomy and discussion group t.me/AstronomyBN
Update (Sunday, 26 July 2020)
Comet Neowise bids farewell this week. There are still time to capture the comet before it gets father away from us. NEOWISE’s brightness is rapidly fading and the bright moon is interfering with comet each night, washing out the display.
A wonderful evening with the Neowise comet for a lifetime’s keepsake! (Photo by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam )
Members of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) had the privilege to be with Dr Ceri Powell, the Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum, at House 49 in Panaga, Brunei Darussalam, for a stargazing session on July 26, 2020.
Being amongst the most influential women leader in oil and gas, Dr Powell is also an eco-activist who fascinates about the night sky. It was a golden opportunity to exchange ideas in astronomy/nature and snap this awesome group photo with a well-known scientist. It was not that difficult to capture this single shot photo with the comet in the backgroundβ simply a DSLR camera on a sturdy tripod [with a 50mm lens + some light + 5 seconds exposure + ISO1600 + clear sky]. The hardest part was to remain standstill for 5 seconds, repeat and hope for the best shot.
IAU.org – 17 communities of underrepresented groups around the world have been selected to receive telescopes signed by astronauts and Nobel Laureates. This is the first group of telescopes to be distributed by the Telescopes for All: Inspiring Stars & Stars Shine for Everyone Collaboration.
Winning proposal of “Making Space for All – MASA” by Nur Bazilah binti Zainal Abidin, member of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam, won the Telescopes for All award by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Telescopes for All is a collaboration between the International Astronomical Union Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO), Stars Shine for Everyone (Sterren Schitteren voor Iedereen, SSVI) and Universe Awareness/University of Leiden. The programme seeks to broaden the horizons of children, parents and educators alike, to spark an interest in science, and to promote equal opportunities for pursuing a career in astronomy. The Telescopes for All programme is one of the legacy actions arising from the IAU100 celebrations and follows the successful collaboration in 2019. The 17 telescopes were donated by BRESSER.
Oleh Lyna Mohamad Gambar oleh Bahyiah Bakir Media Permata
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, 21 JUN β Pemerhati dan peminat tegar astronomi di seluruh dunia termasuk di negara ini hari ini bukan sahaja berpeluang menyaksikan fenomena alam, gerhana matahari anulus (cincin), malahan terpukau dan teruja dengan keunikannya.
Fenomena yang berlaku ketika bulan melintasi antara bumi dan matahari β tidak terlalu hampir dengan bumi dan tidak terlindung sepenuhnya daripada cahaya, meninggalkan kesan lingkaran yang boleh dilihat.
Gerhana matahari cincin itu berlaku dalam tempoh satu atau dua tahun dan hanya boleh dilihat dari laluan sempit melintasi planet. Ketika fenomena itu berlaku, beberapa kawasan akan bergelap selama satu minit 22 saat.
Negara Brunei Darussalam melalui Persatuan Astronomi Brunei Darussalam (PABD) turut menantikan fenomena ini dan mengadakan penstriman langsung di platform media sosial mereka.
Oleh : Rohani Haji Abdul Hamid Foto : Hamzah Mohidin Pelita Brunei Edisi Isnin 22 Jun 2020
KIARONG, Ahad, 21 Jun. – Kejadian gerhana merupakan antara tanda-tanda kebesaran Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala yang mentadbir seluruh alam.
Di samping itu, gerhana juga adalah satu ibadat kerana kita dianjurkan melakukan perkara-perkara yang berkebajikan, bersyukur atas kurnia itu dengan melakukan sembahyang, bersedekah, berzikir, berdoa serta menjauhkan daripada melakukan perkara-perkara mungkar, maksiat serta perbuatan syirik.
Skywatchers across Brunei Darussalam were treated to a partial solar eclipse, which began yesterday at 3.10pm.
Many used special solar glasses to witness the rare annular event at outdoor locations, while others watched it through a livestreamed session conducted from 2.45pm to 5.30pm by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD).
A member of Brunei Darussalam Astronomical Society, Haji Mohd Azri bin Haji Ibrahim speaks to the Bulletin
The livestream for the Brunei-Muara District was carried out at the Kiarong residence of PABD member Haji Mohd Azri bin Haji Ibrahim, who had even set up viewing equipment for eager observers.
Bandar Seri Begawan – People in this country will have the opportunity to witness the rare sun eclipse on Sunday afternoon, June 21, 2020. The cosmic event will be expected to begin at 3.10 p.m. and ends at 5.23 p.m.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is perfectly aligned between the sun and the earth. During the partial eclipse, the moon never completely covers the sun.
Above: Looking West from Brunei Darussalam during the solar eclipse phenomena on Sunday, 21 June 2020. Picture shows the position of the sun and the moon in the sky.
The phenomenon of a partial solar eclipse will last for 2 hours 13 minutes, where throughout this event the Moon will obscure a small fraction of the sun. During the greatest eclipses, i.e. at 4.22 p.m., nearly 28 percent of the sun will be covered by the Moon.
Due to the recent outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) has postponed all our activities such as annual meeting, stargazing, new moon observation etc. until further notice and focus on implementing Astronomy at Home. This is in view of prevention and to control the spread of the infection in Brunei Darussalam.
