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Press Release: PABD holds Inaugural Appreciation Ceremony & 4th AGM

by Dr Roslynna Rosli & Norjannah Mahmud. Members of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD)

PABD Group photo with the Honorary Advisors and the newly elected Executive members at the 4th AGM

Bandar Seri Begawan – Persatuan Astronomi Negara Brunei Darussalam (PABD) held its 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) yesterday at the Higher Hotel, Kiulap on Sunday afternoon, January 10, 2021.

Present during the AGM were advisors to PABD, Yang Arif Awang Hj Johar bin Hj Mohammad, Judge of the Syarie Court and Dr Haji Norarfan bin Hj Zainal, Rector UNISSA. Also present were about 40 members of PABD and members of the public.

The ceremony began with the welcoming speech by Yang Di Pertua PABD, Awang Hj Mahadi bin Hj Md Tahir. The AGM was then officiated by Yang Arif Awang Hj Johar bin Hj Mohammad, one of the Advisor Board members of PABD.

2021/2022 Executive Committee of PABD
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Press Release: Brunei Darussalam Receives Telescopes for All Award by IAU

IAU.org – 17 communities of underrepresented groups around the world have been selected to receive telescopes signed by astronauts and Nobel Laureates. This is the first group of telescopes to be distributed by the Telescopes for All: Inspiring Stars & Stars Shine for Everyone Collaboration.

Winning proposal of “Making Space for All – MASA” by Nur Bazilah binti Zainal Abidin, member of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam, won the Telescopes for All award by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Telescopes for All is a collaboration between the International Astronomical Union Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO), Stars Shine for Everyone (Sterren Schitteren voor Iedereen, SSVI) and Universe Awareness/University of Leiden. The programme seeks to broaden the horizons of children, parents and educators alike, to spark an interest in science, and to promote equal opportunities for pursuing a career in astronomy. The Telescopes for All programme is one of the legacy actions arising from the IAU100 celebrations and follows the successful collaboration in 2019. The 17 telescopes were donated by BRESSER.

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Tidak Lepas Peluang Saksi Gerhana Matahari Separa

Oleh : Rohani Haji Abdul Hamid
Foto : Hamzah Mohidin
Pelita Brunei Edisi Isnin 22 Jun 2020

KIARONG, Ahad, 21 Jun. – Kejadian gerhana merupakan antara tanda-tanda kebesaran
Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala yang mentadbir seluruh alam.

Di samping itu, gerhana juga adalah satu ibadat kerana kita dianjurkan melakukan
perkara-perkara yang berkebajikan, bersyukur atas kurnia itu dengan melakukan sembahyang, bersedekah, berzikir, berdoa serta menjauhkan daripada melakukan perkara-perkara mungkar, maksiat serta perbuatan syirik.

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Press Release: Partial Solar Eclipse on June 21, 2020

Bandar Seri Begawan – People in this country will have the opportunity to witness the rare sun eclipse on Sunday afternoon, June 21, 2020. The cosmic event will be expected to begin at 3.10 p.m. and ends at 5.23 p.m.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is perfectly aligned between the sun and the earth. During the partial eclipse, the moon never completely covers the sun.

Above: Looking West from Brunei Darussalam during the solar eclipse phenomena on Sunday, 21 June 2020. Picture shows the position of the sun and the moon in the sky.

The phenomenon of a partial solar eclipse will last for 2 hours 13 minutes, where throughout this event the Moon will obscure a small fraction of the sun. During the greatest eclipses, i.e. at 4.22 p.m., nearly 28 percent of the sun will be covered by the Moon.

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How can we effectively reduce the impacts of light pollution?

The International Astronomical Union – Without dark skies, astronomers are unable to receive the faint signals of light from distant objects in outer space. Dark skies are a critical scientific resource for understanding the mysteries of the universe. Dark skies are also an important part of the cultural and natural heritage of all civilizations.

Light pollution map of Brunei Darussalam by lightpollutionmap.info

Many astronomical observatories are built in remote locations in an effort to escape the light of cities and towns. Even so, these observatories are threatened by light pollution such as city lights encroaching upon the mountaintop of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Mauna Kea Observatories is one of the best astronomical sites in the world. Lighting ordinances are an important tool to protect these sites from light pollution.

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Supermoon 2020 until 2030

A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that nearly coincides with perigee (the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit) resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disk as viewed from Earth. The astronomy term is a perigee syzygy (of the Earth–Moon–Sun system) or a full (or new) Moon around perigee.

Criteria of Supermoon

There are no official definition for a supermoon, as the term was mainly a related interest to astrology. Few criteria as follow:

  • Richard Nolle (2011) defines Supermoon as any lunation closer than 368,630 km.
  • Fred Espenak (2012) defines the Moon’s mean apogee and perigee distances results in a mean limiting distance of 367,607 km for a super moon.
  • Fergus Wood (1976) used the definition of a full or new moon occurring within 24 hours of perigee and also used the label perigee-syzygy.
  • Sky and Telescope magazine chose a definition of 223,000 miles (358,884 km)
  • TimeandDate.com prefers a definition of 360,000 km (223,694 mi).

You can find the full list of Supermoon / Perigee syzygy / Full Moon around perigee for year 2020 until 2030 below compiled and computed by Hazarry Hj Ali Ahmad, the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam, based on the above definitions. A logical check is also generated for the top 3 closest moon distance in that year. A personal opinion is to categories the Supermoon when at least 3 of the criterial searches were met.

Supermoon 2020-2030 in PDFDownload
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Make your own cardboard planisphere

Adapted from Dominic Ford

A planisphere is a simple hand-held device which shows a map of which stars are visible in the night sky at any particular time. By rotating a wheel, it shows how stars move across the sky through the night, and how different constellations are visible at different times of year. On this web page, a kit which you can download and print to make your own planisphere (for Brunei Darussalam) out of paper or cardboard.

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Astronomi dan Masyarakat di Negara Brunei Darussalam

Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
Persatuan Astronomi Negara Brunei Darussalam
*Presenting author’s email: hazarry@bruneiastronomy.org

Astronomi merupakan suatu bidang yang multidisiplin iaitu gabungan sains, matematik, agama dan pelbagai lagi. Bagaimanapun di Negara Brunei Darussalam pendedahan bidang tersebut terhadap orang ramai masih lagi kurang. Justeru itu, Persatuan Astronomi Negara Brunei Darussalam (PABD) memainkan peranan sebagai agensi bebas dan persatuan bukan Kerajaan untuk memajukan bidang ini terutamanya astronomi Islam (falak syarie) melalui pelbagai inisiatif dan mempelbagai program bagi menarik minat masyarakat. Sejak penubuhan PABD pada tahun 2003, beberapa faktor yang menyumbang serta cabaran pada perkembangan bidang astronomi dalam kalangan masyarakat di Negara Brunei Darussalam telah dikenalpasti.

Astronomi_dan_Masyarakat_di_Negara_BruneiDownload