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2019 Dec 26 Annular Solar Eclipse: ‘Ring of Fire’ in Borneo, Brunei merely misses it will still see partial eclipse

By Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad

Bandar Seri Begawan – A perfect  alignment of the Earth-Moon-Sun bodies will occur on December 26, 2019, resulting in a spectacular annular solar eclipse visible in few cities of Saudi Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Borneo and the Pacific Ocean .

Distinct parts of a Moon’s shadow on the Earth – Antumbra and Penumbra. A bright ring is visible around the eclipsing bodies from area of Antumbra. An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon covers the Sun’s center, leaving the Sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” or annulus around the Moon. (Photo Source: timeanddate.com)

As seen from a location on Earth, a solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in front of the Sun thus block the Solar disk. It is a mere miss, as people in Brunei will only see a partial eclipse with 85.8% obscuration of the Sun by the Moon. A simulation of the partial Solar Eclipse as seen from Brunei during mid-day is shown in the video below.

Since we will only witness the partial obscuration of the sun by the moon, features that are normally visible during annular eclipse such as ring of fire and darkening of the sky/surrounding will not be observable from Brunei.

Continue reading “2019 Dec 26 Annular Solar Eclipse: ‘Ring of Fire’ in Borneo, Brunei merely misses it will still see partial eclipse”
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2018 July 28 Century’s Longest Blood Moon Amazes Eclipse Watchers in Brunei

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Brunei to See Partial Solar Eclipse on March 9 2016

Solar Eclipse Banner

By Hazarry Hj Ali Ahmad

 

What happens during a partial solar eclipse?

A perfect  alignment of the Earth-Moon-Sun bodies is required for a solar eclipse to occur. As seen from a location on Earth, a solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in front of the Sun thus block the Solar Disk. A simulation of the partial Solar Eclipse as seen from Brunei in the morning of March 9, 2016 is shown in the video above. Since we will only witness the partial obscuration of the sun by the moon, features that are normally visible during totality such as corona and darkening of the sky/surrounding will not be observable from Brunei.
Continue reading “Brunei to See Partial Solar Eclipse on March 9 2016”

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Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse of the 21st Century Visible Saturday 04 April 2015

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Bandar Seri Begawan – People in this country will have a rare opportunity to watch an astronomical phenomenon, a total lunar eclipse, on the evening of this Saturday, April 4th, 2015.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth and being in the Earth’s dark shadow known as Umbra. Such occurrence is rare when the Sun, Earth and Moon are exactly aligned with the Earth being precisely in the middle.

Above: Phases of the eclipse and local lunar circumstances as the Moon passes the Earth's shadow on April 4, 2015, from Brunei.
Above: Phases of the eclipse and local lunar circumstances as the Moon passes the Earth’s shadow on April 4, 2015, from Brunei.

 

This great natural phenomenon is also observed by many region around the globe such as Asia, Australia, Pacific, North and South America.

In Brunei, the lunar eclipse will be first observed after the moon rise at 6:22 pm. If the evening sky is clear, eclipse watchers will see the full moon is partially obscured by the Earth’s shadows.

At 7:58 pm, it will be a very spectacular astronomical event as the entire moon will pass through the dark earth`s shadow known as the Umbra. During totality, eclipse observers will notice the full moon to completely darken and likely will turn to coppery red colour. Continue reading “Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse of the 21st Century Visible Saturday 04 April 2015”

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Meeting Discusses Collaborative Efforts during Upcoming Lunar Eclipse Activities

Bandar Seri Begawan – A meeting was held in UNISSA in late afternoon on March 21, 2015, to discuss activities during the upcoming lunar eclipse. Present at the meeting were Hazarry (General Secretary), Hj Julaihi (Deputy Secretary I) , Pg Shahdani (Deputy Secretary II), Saifulbahri (Exco) of PABD and officals from UNISSA and Survey Deparment.

The meeting was led by Dr Haji Norarfan bin Haji Zainal(Rektor UNISSA/PABD)  as the chaiperson and members discussed the working paper proposal and delegation of tasks for the event. One of the main programmes is eclipse observation for public which will be organised by the PABD in collaboration with Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) and Survey Department.

The proposal is available here.

More infomation on the upcoming lunar eclipse observation will be made available as soon as the venue and event is confirmed.

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‘Blood moon’ awes stargazers

Partially eclipsed moon during the lunar eclipse on Oct 8, 2014 - Photo by Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
Partially eclipsed moon during the lunar eclipse on Oct 8, 2014 – Photo by Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad

STARGAZERS in the Americas and Asia were treated to a lunar eclipse Wednesday, a celestial show that bathed the moon in a reddish tint to create a “blood moon”.

In Brunei Darussalam, however, stargazers were disappointed not to catch the spectacle as clouds hindered the view of the eclipse.

The phenomenon can only been witness for a few minutes when the  moon was in between the clouds.