Astronomy in Brunei Darussalam
By Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam
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 .
The moon shadow of the annular solar eclipse is going to pass through the Arabian Peninsula, southern India, Borneo, Philippines and Guam this month (December). To mark the occasion of the December 2019 celestial event, the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) will host a Space Talk at the Box, Telanai Avenue on Saturday, December 14, 2019. This event is free and open to the public.
PABD will give a presentation about what to expect with the eclipse, why solar eclipses are so rare and spectacular to see, where should you be in this region to view the eclipse for its annularity and what the view will be like in Brunei Darussalam. Safe viewing and photography tips will also be discussed, and the PABD will also hand out special glasses for viewing the eclipse (limited to only the first 30 group of family/individual at the talk).
If you are curious about the cosmos of many mysteries, then the second presentation by PABD will explain one of the universe’s unsolved mysteries – Dark Matter.
Astronomy enthusiasts, Members of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam and general public are welcome to join, and registration of the event since the space is limited via www.bruneiastronomy.org/spacetalk
Bandar Seri Begawan – The new 19-hour old crescent moon of Rabiulakhir was sighted today, on Wednesday evening (November 27th) by moon-sighters of Brunei Darussalam Astronomical Society at 6.31 pm, when the curved light was less than 2 degrees above the horizon.
The western sky was cloudy near the horizon at sunset, scopes were aligned using the 3 planet – Venus, Saturn and Jupiter – and unable to align using the Sun as it was most of the time behind the clouds.
Bandar Seri Begawan – A solar eclipse expedition of RING OF FIRE will take place in conjunction of Dec 26, 2019 Annular Solar Eclipse in December 2019.
Join the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD) for this exclusive 6-days Expedition (22-27 December 2019) to witness the annular eclipse of the sun in Sri Aman, a collaboration with Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Masjid Bandar Sri Aman.
Truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure! Register and Join the convoy at www.bruneiastronomy.org/xpdc
The road trip /convoy will bring you a rare opportunity to watch βa string of beadsβ (Bailyβs Beads Effect) from the edges of the sun, and a very spectacular sight as a small βring of fireβ or annulus remains around the sun at greatest eclipse. This is a rare celestial event as the next annular eclipse will take place in Borneo in 2031!
Details and questions, join PABD Expedition Whatsapp group www.bruneiastronomy.org/expedition or call +673 815 8392 (Husaini)
Bandar Seri Begawan – The planet Mercury will transit in front of the sun on 11 November and ends on 12 November (Brunei Time). The passage will take for a total of 5h 28m 48s and will be visible from America, Europe, Africa and Western Asia. The phenomenon will not be visible from South East Asia including Brunei Darussalam and Australia.
Planet transit takes place in stages and the followings are the key time of contacts (Brunei Time) :
I (first external contact of Mercury with the Sun’s disk): 20h 35m 26s
II (first internal contact of Mercury with the solar disk) : 20h 37m 08s
Greatest (distance between the planet’s disk and the sun’s centre at minimum): 23h 19m 48s
III (last internal contact): 2h 02m 33s
IV (last external contact): 2h 04m 14s
Mercury transit happens about 13 or 14 per century, and this is the last one for 13 years. The next one is on November 12, 2032.
These are the live video streaming links:
Link 1: https://www.pbs.org/β¦/watch-live-mercury-parades-between-eaβ¦
Link 2: https://www.timeanddate.com/live/
Link 3: https://mercurytransit.gsfc.nasa.gov/2019/
Link 4: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzcmd_KQpEw
Continue reading “Watch Online Live Stream the Rare Transit of Mercury on November 11, 2019”Bandar Seri Begawan – Perlaksanaan program menamakan Bintang dan Exoplanet (Name Exoworlds) Brunei Darussalam anjuran Persatuan Astronomi Negara Brunei Darussalam selaku International Astronomical Union (IAU) National Outreach Coordinator yang sedang dijalankan telah mencapai ke peringkat kemuncaknya.
Sejak pelancarannya pada Ogos 2019, inisiatif berkenaan telah berjaya menerima sebanyak 242 cadangan nama bagi Bintang Induk HD 179949 bersama Exoplanet HD 179949b. Keseluruhan cadangan nama adalah daripada 211 orang peserta yang terdiri daripada individu perseorangan, wakil-wakil pelajar daripada institusi-institusi pendidikan, wakil organisasi kerajaan serta agensi bukan kerajaan di negara ini.
“Penyertaan yang amat menggalakkan ini telah mencerminkan wujudnya usaha dan kesedaran yang ketara dari kalangan masyarakat dan pelbagai pihak dalam mengembangkan dan memajukan bidang astronomi di negara Brunei Darussalam.” kata YM Hj Abdul Aziz bin Hj Akob, Naib Yang Di-Pertua Persatuan Astronomi Negara Brunei Darussalam, semasa ucapan pelancaran Sempena Pembukaan Undian Awam bagi Name Exoworlds Brunei Darussalam pada 13 Safar 1440 bersamaan 12 Oktober 2019.
Continue reading “Siaran Akhbar: Undian Awam dibuka bagi Name Exoworlds Brunei Darussalam mulai 13 Oktober hingga 13 November 2019”Bandar Seri Begawan – If you want to explore the night sky, then join us for these fun stargazing at the Eco Ponies Garden in Tutong on October 19, 2019. You can bring your telescope and enjoy camping under the stars featuring the Orionids Meteor Shower!
Kuala Belait – The International Space Station (ISS) flew exactly in front of the Moon on Thursday morning, Sep 19, 2019 at precisely 05:29:46.49 am for 0.61 seconds.
Despite of the hazy sky, the space station passing in front of the moon which takes less than a second was observable by a group of astrophotgraphers from the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam over Panaga, Brunei Darussalam.
