by Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam
- A partial lunar eclipse will occur just before dawn on Wednesday, July 17, in Brunei Darussalam. The next total lunar eclipse is on 26 May 2021
- For Brunei, 65 per cent of the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow or Umbra when it is close to setting in the western sky
Countdown to July 17, 2019 Partial Lunar Eclipse
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse begins, 02:44
Partial Lunar Eclipse begins, 04:01
Maximum eclipse, 05:30
Moon sets, 06:21
Bandar Seri Begawan – The partial eclipse will happen on July 17, 2019, at dawn and will last about two hours, with up to 65 per cent of the moon in darkness. It will be visible in our country Brunei Darussalam and most parts of Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and South America.
A partial eclipse occurs when the earth moves between the sun and the moon, but the three celestial bodies do not form a straight line. This causes some part of the moon’s surface to be covered by the the earth’s shadow.
From Brunei, a Lunar eclipse will start when the Moon passes through the earthโs penumbral shadow beginning at 2.44 a.m. (local Brunei time) on July 17, 2019. The partial lunar eclipse phase will start when part of the darkest Earthโs shadow or Umbra covers the moon at 04:01 a.m.
For Brunei, the maximum eclipse is at 05:30 a.m. This is when more than half of the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow or Umbra and close to setting in the western sky. The eclipse can only be viewed until moon set at 6:21 a.m.
There will be an online live observation of this phenomenon from the Mini Observatory, Tutong, which can be viewed via www.facebook.com/bruneiastronomy starting from 2 a.m., subject to weather. The live viewing of the eclipse is organized by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam. This event has been registered to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a global celebration to increase awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries #iau100 including the historic moon landing event on 1969 #MoonLanding50.