Recently a rare Mars occultation had occurred, where the red planet disappeared behind the crescent of the Moon. The phenomenon was only visible from a small region in Asia,
including Brunei Darussalam.

Astronomical experts and enthusiasts from the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD), armed with telescopes, binoculars and cameras took the opportunity to hold a viewing event for its members at the beach front of The Empire Brunei in Jerudong.

PABD Treasurer-General Shaiful Bahri bin Haji Ahmad offered an Islamic point of view of this occurance. “This phenomenon only occurs every 77 years,” he said.

This, he said, is one of Allah the Almighty’s magnificence.

“This is the beauty of the course of the precise movement and rules of stars and planets set by Allah the Almighty.

“The rules set by Allah the Almighty for the course of these planets are precise and beautiful, and each planet has its own course.”

Executive committee member of PABD Nurbazilah binti Zainal Abidin said there was a moment of panic when some clouds appeared to obstruct the view, but thankfully cleared just in time for the event.

During the spectacle, from the naked eye, Mars looked like a bright ‘red star’ close to the Moon at around 8pm. It got interestingly closer to the Moon by 9pm before disappearing at 9.29pm.

The PABD said that an occultation is an astronomical phenomenon when one object is obscured by another object that passes between it and the observer.

Mars slipped behind the Moon’s dark side and was visible to the naked eye. From Brunei, the Moon was very low on the horizon. Lunar gazers had to be at a location with an unobstructed view of the Western sky.

Since the Moon is the nearest cosmic neighbour to Earth, it regularly passes in front of planets or bright stars. But an occultation by the Moon and Mars from the same location on Earth is an exceedingly rare occurrence. It is often described as a “perfect planet alignment”.

The last Mars occultation that occurred in Brunei was in May 2008.

The next one is set to take place 77 years later, on February 7, 2098.

Stargazers were treated to a spectacle when the Lyrids meteor shower made its way to Brunei’s night skies on Thursday.

Some 100 local astronomy enthusiasts gathered at Bintudoh Greenspring Resort, Tutong District for the ‘Tonight It Will Rain Stars’ experience to observe celestial objects such as the Moon and planets through telescopes.

The Lyrids meteor event was jointly organised by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD), the Brunei Adventure Recreation Association (BARA) and Universiti Brunei Darussalam Students’ Association (PMUBD).

PABD Secretary-General Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad said the occurrence of the Lyrids meteor shower was sourced by the debris from the comet Thatcher. “Earth is passing through this massive stream of comet dust particles that fell into the upper atmosphere,” he said.

“They produce rapid streaks of light commonly known as meteors or shooting stars with an expected rate of 18 meteors in an hour.”

The camp provided participants with hands-on activities, including a workshop on ‘Night Mobile Photography’ by Sonny Jumpo of PABD.

A ‘Launch Your Own Rocketship’ competition was hosted by PABD member Siti Nor Izuana binti Ayob to challenge young participants to construct and launch a simple rocket made from water bottles.

In the morning, participants were brought to an astronomy exhibition featuring a one- to 130-billion scale Solar System model around the resort’s vicinity. The display represented an accurate equivalent scale of sizes and orbital distances of the planets, covering a radial distance of about 160 metres.

Campers also hosted outdoor activities to raise awareness on the environment on the occasion of Earth Day.

Earlier, PABD hosted a sungkai event for orphanage children and committee members, where the guest of honour was Acting Secretary of the Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) and Vice President of PABD Haji Abdul Aziz bin Haji Akob.

Haji Abdul Aziz presented donations to 12 orphans who took part in the programme.

The camp concluded with a prize presentation ceremony to the winning team of the water rocket challenge competition and top scorers of the online quiz.

Also present in a show of support was People’s Republic of China Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Yu Hong.

Clear skies in Brunei last night allowed for the easy viewing of a rare Mars occultation in its skies, where the Red Planet disappeared behind the crescent moon.

The phenomenon that happened for about 10 seconds at 9.29pm saw the moon passing in front of Mars creating a lunar occultation visible only from a small region of central Asia including Brunei.

Over 20 members of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD), armed with telescopes, binoculars and cameras took part in a viewing at the beach front of The Empire Brunei in Jerudong last night.

According to executive committee member of PABD Nurbazilah binti Zainal Abidin, the phenomenon is rare because it will only be visible in Brunei in the next 77 years.

“We were here from about 8pm, and recorded the whole transition from beginning, from above the moon until it goes behind the moon,” she said.

She added that the clear sky made the view easier.

“There was no obstruction, and the sky was clear, which is quite rare.”

She also recalled a moment of panic when some clouds appeared to obstruct the view five minutes before the start of the phenomenon but cleared just in time for the event.

From the naked eye, Mars looked like a bright “red star” close to the moon at around 8pm. It got interestingly closer to the moon by 9pm before disappearing at 9.29pm.

PABD said that an occultation is an astronomical phenomenon when one object is obscured by another object that passes between it and the observer.

Mars will slip behind the moon’s dark side and will be visible to the naked eye. From Brunei, the moon will be very low on the horizon. Lunar gazers must be at a location with an unobstructed view of the Western sky.

Since the moon is the nearest cosmic neighbour to Earth, it regularly passes in front of planets or bright stars. But an occultation by the moon and Mars from the same location on Earth is an exceedingly rare occurrence. It is often described as the “perfect planet alignment”.

The last Mars occultation from Brunei occurred in May 2008. The next in Brunei is set to take place 77 years later, on February 7, 2098.

Source: A rare Mars occultation in Brunei skies » Borneo Bulletin Online

A large green meteor streaked through the sky over Brunei Darussalam last Sunday, with many excited observers taking to social media to discuss the natural phenomenon.
The passing meteor was photographed at 7.27pm by Mohammad Nazhif bin Haji Abdul Khalid, who was taking pictures of the planet Venus in the clear sky at his home in Kampong Lambak.

He recalled, “At first, I thought that it was a fireworks display, but there were no exploding sounds.”

The photo of the event uploaded to his Instagram page caught the attention of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD), which has been receiving eyewitness accounts about a vivid ball of light on the evening of April 12.

The fireball was also spotted in other districts, starting at around 7pm.

Bon Wei Chin, 25, said, “I saw the meteor passing over Pekan Seria…It flew past a very bright star.”

Azimah Alipah was at the Penanjong Camp in the Tutong District when she witnessed it. “I saw a very bright shooting star for five seconds, heading towards the sea,” she described.
Mohd Yusbi Ayub bin Yusof also saw the meteor, “which passed overhead in the Jerudong Park area, at around the time for Isyak prayer.”

A meteor is a small piece of an astronomical body that burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light in the sky. A huge meteor can create a massive bright light.

THE scene was set during the wee hours of yesterday morning for Bruneians to witness one of astronomy’s rarest phenomena, the clear skies providing a magnificent view of the much-anticipated partial lunar eclipse.

The cosmic spectacle occurred just before the Moon set, when our natural satellite was partially covered by Earth’s shadow.

A total of 9,306 viewers watched the live Facebook feed provided by the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam (PABD), broadcast from the Mini Observatory in Kampong Keriam, Tutong District.

The penumbral lunar eclipse started around 3.42am while the partial lunar eclipse began at 4.01am, when the Moon was seen engulfed by the Sun’s shadow.

At 4.40am, half the Moon was already blocked, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 5.30am, the point at which 65 per cent of the Moon was covered.

The next lunar eclipse is on June 21, 2020. But Bruneians and people in the region need not wait that long to see another stunning sight in the skies; a partial solar eclipse is expected on December 26 this year.