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.

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.

Totality’s duration is only 4 minutes and 43 seconds when the moon leaves the Umbra at 8.03 pm. Interestingly, the moon passing very close to outer rim of the Umbra will be make this central eclipse being the briefest sight of totality in the 21st century.

21st century’s briefest view of Total Lunar Eclipse:
1) 2015 Apr 04 20:00 Duration: 00h 04m 43s
2) 2021 May 26 19:18 Duration: 00h 14m 30s
3) 2068 Nov 09 19:44 Duration: 00h 18m 21s
4) 2061 Apr 05 05:52 Duration: 00h 29m 53s
5) 2090 Sep 09 06:49 Duration: 00h 31m 51s

The partial eclipse ends at 9.45 pm and sunlight will gradually reach the Moon’s surface as the Earth’s umbra will no longer cover the Moon. By then, the full moon is expected to return to its normal brilliance.

2015 Apr 04 Total Lunar Eclipse Simulation from Brunei

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipse is completely safe to watch with the naked eyes.

The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam will join in collaboration with the Survey Department and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) to organise a Lunar Eclipse observation for the public from 6 pm until 10 pm, Saturday (04 April 2015), at Dermaga Diraja (Waterfront) in the capital.

Other activities to take place will include Sky watching (planet Jupiter) and Astronomy Exhibition. Two astronomy public talks entitled Scientific Perspective of Eclipse Phenomenon by an officer from Survey Department and Eclipse Phenomena According to Islamic Perspective by Dr. Sayyed Abdul Hamid al-Mahdaly, Faculty of Usuluddin, UNISSA, are also scheduled in the evening. Members of the public are welcome to attend and admission is free of charge.

Upcoming lunar eclipse will occur in this country on 7/8 August 2017 but it will be a partial eclipse. On 09 Mac 2016 next year, a partial eclipse of the sun will be visible from Brunei when more than 90% of the sun is covered by the moon.

RTB News at 10: Media Conference for Total Lunar Eclipse Observation

The Astronomy Association of Brunei Darussalam is working jointly with the Survey Department of the Ministry of Development and the Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali or UNISSA to organise a Total Lunar Eclipse Observation event on Saturday at the Royal Wharf in the capital starting at 6 in the afternoon until 10 in the evening. A media conference was held this afternoon to elaborate more details on the cosmic event at the Senat Room in UNISSA.

According to Pengiran Haji Saiful Bahrin bin Pengiran Haji Kula, the Joint Chairman for the Total Lunar Eclipse Observation event, the public will have the opportunity to witness a phenomena of a total lunar eclipse which only occurs when the sun, earth and moon are in line with earth, which will be in the centre throughout the spectacular astronomical event. Meanwhile, Awang Hazarry Bin Haji Ali Ahmad, the General Secretary of the Astronomy Association of Brunei Darussalam disclosed that the Moon eclipse is completely safe to watch with the naked eye. The Survey Department will also be providing a number of telescope to help the public to see more clearly. The phenomena is also visible in many areas of the world such as Asia, Australia Pacific, North and South America. Several activities will also be organise during the event and among them are an astronomy exhibition as well as a general talk on eclipse. Members of the public are also invited to attend and entrance is free.

//For Press Release

FOR MEDIA

Siaran Akhbar: Cerapan_Gerhana Penuh Bulan 04_Apr_2015

Diagram: 0150404 Lunar Eclipse for Brunei

Powerpoint: 20150404 Gerhana Penuh Bulan

More Resources:

NASA’s 2015 April 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse

How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse by Fred Espenak

Future Eclipses in Brunei Darussalam