By Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam
Bandar Seri Begawan – A perfect alignment of the 3 celestial bodies, Earth-Moon-Sun, will occur on Sunday June 21, 2020, resulting in a spectacular annular solar eclipse which can only be view from specific areas on Earth.
The annular phase of this solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Africa including the Central African Republic, Congo, and Ethiopia; Asia in Yemen, Oman, south of Pakistan and northern India, China including Taiwan. You must be located within the narrow path of annularity represented on the map above by a red line (about 11,400 km long and 21 km width), where people in these areas will see the characteristic “ring of fire”.
Use this Interactive World Map of the Annular Sun Eclipse of June 21, 2020 by NASA to find out start time of the eclipse for your location: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2020Jun21Agoogle.html
While for many areas around the globe will experiencing some part of the Sun is covered by the Moon in most Africa, Southeastern Europe, most of Asia including Brunei Darussalam and some tip of Northern Australia (see map above).
Partial Solar Eclipse from Brunei
The partial solar eclipse happens when the moon never completely covers the sun. In Brunei, the phenomenon will start at exactly 3:10 pm, will last for about two hours and 13 minutes. The maximum phase of the eclipse (greatest obscuration) will occur at 4:22:36 pm with the moon covering 28.2 per cent of the sun’s disc. The partial eclipse will end when the moon leaves the sun’s edge at 5:23 pm. Diagrams of the eclipse sequence or phases from Brunei in Local Time are as follow:
Start of eclipse at 15:10 
Greatest eclipse at 16:22:36 
End of eclipse at 17:23
The next eclipses visible from Brunei Darussalam:
1. Total Lunar on Wednesday, 26 May 2021 and Partial Lunar on Friday, 19 November 2021
2. Partial Solar on Thursday, 20 April 2023
Partial Eclipse Visibility for Southeast Asia
The partial eclipse of the Sun will be widely visible to areas in the Southeast Asia regions from Burma to the Philippines, but will not be visible from West Java Indonesia. The map and table of timing for the eclipse show below:
| Location (ASEAN) | Magnitude | First contact | Maximum eclipse | Fourth contact | Duration partial |
| Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) 114° 56′ E, 4° 53′ N | 0.399 Partial | 15:10:14 45.5° | 16:22:36 29.3° | 17:23:47 15.3° | 2:13:33 |
| Phnom Penh (Cambodia) 104° 55′ E, 11° 33′ N | 0.479 Partial | 13:30:32 65.9° | 15:01:16 45.9° | 16:16:02 28.8° | 2:45:31 |
| Jakarta (Indonesia) 106° 50′ E, 6° 10′ S | Not visible | ||||
| Palembang (Indonesia) 104° 45′ E, 2° 55′ S | 0.056 Partial | 14:32:38 45.0° | 15:06:19 38.2° | 15:37:32 31.5° | 1:04:53 |
| Vientiane (Laos) 102° 36′ E, 17° 58′ N | 0.650 Partial | 13:10:09 75.2° | 14:51:11 52.4° | 16:14:48 33.2° | 3:04:39 |
| Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 101° 42′ E, 3° 10′ N | 0.201 Partial | 14:50:17 59.3° | 15:57:08 45.9° | 16:54:37 33.3° | 2:04:20 |
| Manila (Philippines) 120° 57′ E, 14° 31′ N | 0.748 Partial | 15:01:08 46.0° | 16:22:58 27.2° | 17:31:36 11.7° | 2:30:28 |
| Singapore (Singapore) 103° 51′ E, 1° 18′ N | 0.168 Partial | 15:04:25 53.8° | 16:03:26 41.8° | 16:54:50 30.5° | 1:50:25 |
| Bangkok (Thailand) 100° 31′ E, 13° 45′ N | 0.505 Partial | 13:10:56 74.5° | 14:48:46 53.5° | 16:09:52 35.0° | 2:58:57 |
| Dili (Timor-Leste) 125° 35′ E, 8° 33′ S | 0.152 Partial | 16:53:58 20.1° | 17:34:05 11.3° | 18:10:50 3.1° | 1:16:51 |
| Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 106° 40′ E, 10° 45′ N | 0.474 Partial | 13:37:33 62.5° | 15:05:35 43.0° | 16:18:12 26.4° | 2:40:38 |
Viewing Eclipse of the Sun Safely
Watching a solar eclipse will be a breath taking experience especially because of it’s rarity and mystery. However, it comes with a warning! Our sun emits dangerous radiations. Never look directly at the Sun without proper solar filter even when if the Sun is almost completely blocked during the solar eclipse or by the clouds.
Don’t stare at the sun without protective glasses. Avoid using improper solar filters such CD, plastic bag, sunglasses, exposed x-ray film etc. to view the sun as harmful radiation can still pass through these objects. You can purchase a solar eclipse glass. Solar UV radiation can burn the retinas at the back of your eyes, and cause permanent damage or even blindness. Another safe method of viewing the sun is to use a projection of the sun using small pin-hole camera or binocular or a small telescope.
Astronomy Eclipse Talk
Live streams
List of live streaming videos of the eclipse from around the world:
| Country | Eclipse coverage | Organiser(s) | Time Start of Live stream (UTC+8) | Online Streaming Web Link |
| Along annular eclipse path (Africa, India and China) | Annular solar | CosmoSapiens | 10:00 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzbKNkVzi-c |
| Worldwide | Annular solar | Time & Date | 11:00 | https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2020-june-21 |
| UAE, Abu Dhabi | Partial solar (93%) | International Astronomical Centre (IAC) | 11:00 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PjxY2aSzDw |
| Kenya, Nairobi | Partial solar (59%) | The Travelling Telescope | 11:46 | https://www.fb.com/TheTravellingTelescope/ |
| Tanzania, Mt Meru Astronomical Observatory, Arusha | Partial solar (52%) | Telescopes to Tanzania | 11:47 | https://www.fb.com/groups/telescopestotanzania/ |
| Ethopia, Lalibela | Annular solar | Ethiopian Space Science Society | 11:52 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6IeVB9Ayk |
| India, Bengaluru | Annular solar | Indian Institute Of Astrophysics IIA Bengaluru | 12:00 | https://bit.ly/2M7VyxA |
| Ukraine, Crimea | Partial solar | (Purchase to view) Dmitry Lantinov | 13:00 | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8rHZIXNa-v_A3qdsoFtW_w?view_as=subscriber |
| MY– East Asia UNIVerse Awareness Solar Eclipse (MY- EAUNIVASE) | Annular & Partial solar | Apadilangit; Universe Awareness Malaysia | 13:30 | https://apadilangit.com/my-eaunivase/ |
| Malaysia | Partial solar | FalakOnline | 14:00 | https://www.fb.com/falakonline |
| Malaysia, Kelantan | Partial solar | Persatuan Astronomi Amatur Negeri Kelantan | 14:00 | https://www.fb.com/falakkelantan |
| Malaysia, Sabah | Partial solar | Sabah Stargazers | 14:00 | https://bit.ly/gerhanaSABAH |
| Malaysia, Selangor | Partial solar | Balai Cerap Selangor | 14:00 | https://www.fb.com/balaicerapselangor |
| Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur | Partial solar | Star-Finder Astronomical Society | 14:15 | https://www.fb.com/mystarfinder/ |
| Brunei | Partial solar (28%) | The Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam | 14:30 | https://www.facebook.com/bruneiastronomy |
| Malaysia | Partial solar | Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Malaysia | 14:30 | https://www.fb.com/shamsudin.abdullah |
| Taiwan | Annular solar | National Museum of Natural Science | 14:30 | https://www.youtube.com/user/NMNSTW |
| Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur | Partial solar | Planetarium Negara | 14:30 | https://www.facebook.com/planetariumnegara |
| South Korea | Partial solar | Korean Astronomical and Space Science Institute | 14:53 | https://www.facebook.com/kasipr |
| Malaysia, Sabah | Partial solar | Balai Cerap Al-Biruni Negeri Sabah | 15:00 | https://www.fb.com/albeluranialfalakioriginal/ |
| Indonesia | No Streaming Due to CoVid | Himpunan Astronomi Amatir Jakarta | – | https://penjelajahangkasa.com |
| Japan, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa | Partial Solar | The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan | 15:55 | http://ow.ly/Q98r50A8HDT |
Find out more on 21 June 2020 Annular Solar Eclipse resources and events compiled by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) https://iau.org/public/noc/eclipse/
Solar Eclipse Activities
Let us know if you are organising either individual or in group for Jun 21 solar eclipse observation or activities in Brunei Darussalam & get featured in our first nationwide livestream solar eclipse coverage. Contact: +673874 4170 (Hj Jamri) or e-mail jamri@bruneiastronomy.org
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