Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on January 11, 2020

Bandar Seri Begawan – A penumbral eclipse of the moon will take place on Saturday, January 11, 2020, at pre-dawn hours, from 1.09 a.m. until 5.11 a.m in Brunei Darussalam. The first eclipse of 2020 is also visible from the geographic regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

There are three categories of lunar eclipse: total, partial and penumbral. In a penumbral lunar eclipse, only the faint or diffuse outer shadow of Earth (known as penumbra) falls on the moon’s face. This kind of lunar eclipse is much more subtle, and much more difficult to observe, than either a total or partial eclipse of the moon. There is never a dramatic darkening of the moon, as in when the Earth’s darkest shadow (umbra) moves over the Moon during a partial lunar eclipse.

November 27, 2019November 28, 2019

19-Hour Old New Moon Crescent of Rabiulakhir 1441H Sighted

Bandar Seri Begawan – The new 19-hour old crescent moon of Rabiulakhir was sighted today, on Wednesday evening (November 27th) by moon-sighters of Brunei Darussalam Astronomical Society at 6.31 pm, when the curved light was less than 2 degrees above the horizon.

The western sky was cloudy near the horizon at sunset, scopes were aligned using the 3 planet – Venus, Saturn and Jupiter – and unable to align using the Sun as it was most of the time behind the clouds.

Photo of a little crescent (hilal), which is an illuminated portion on the margin of the moon, behind clouds.

September 19, 2019October 14, 2019

2019 Sep 19 Brunei Spots Spectacular ISS Transit across the Moon

A rare ISS transit the Moon, a composite of 5 images by Hj Md Azri

Kuala Belait – The International Space Station (ISS) flew exactly in front of the Moon on Thursday morning, Sep 19, 2019 at precisely 05:29:46.49 am for 0.61 seconds.

Despite of the hazy sky, the space station passing in front of the moon which takes less than a second was observable by a group of astrophotgraphers from the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam over Panaga, Brunei Darussalam.

At zoomed in, the array of solar panels and outlines of the station are fairly visible.
Picture by Hj Md Azri

August 31, 2019September 3, 2019

Muharram 1441H New Moon Observation

Bandar Seri Begawan – The Western sky was clear on the evening of August 31, 2019. The celestial objects, Venus and Sun, were used for scopes alignment during the new moon sighting.

The new moon observation of Muharram 1441H was held at Agok Hill by members of Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam. The 24 hour-old hilal (crescent moon) was sighted immediately after sunset, 6.28 pm (after pointing the scopes at sunset and slewing to the Moon).

PABD wishes all Muslims in Brunei Darussalam and around the world Salam Maal Hijrah 1441H.

July 18, 2019August 29, 2019

Half-Blood Moon across Brunei on 17 July 2019

Bandar Seri Begawan – Curiosity and awe have greeted a partial lunar eclipse at pre-dawn hours of July 17, 2019. Here are some of the eclipse moment photographed around Brunei Darussalam.

Photo by Ridzuan HM (Using Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF Telephoto lens)
Photo by Ridzuan HM (Using Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF Telephoto lens)
Photo by Ridzuan HM (Using Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF Telephoto lens)
Photo by Ridzuan HM (Using Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF Telephoto lens)

The following pictures were taken at Panaga Beach , during lunar eclipse on Wednesday 17th between 3.15 and 5:30 am by Rolando Fidel Pinto. Gear used DSLR Pentax K1 with Pentax 1.4x HD PENTAX-DA AF Rear Converter AW and Pentax HD DA 560mm ED AW F5.6 ED AW Lens, which delivers a total focal length of 784mm. Tripod used is a Velbo Pro Geo V630 with a Jobu Design Gimbal Head DMG-HD4

Photo by Rolando Pinto from Panaga Beach
Photo by Rolando Pinto from Panaga Beach

July 12, 2019August 4, 2019

See lunar eclipse in Brunei skies at Dawn on July 17, 2019

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

March 19, 2019March 20, 2019

Supermoon, Full Moon & Equinox on March 20 and 21 2019

Supermoon, Full Moon, Equinox? Check out this space infographic below for explanation. Catch the ‘Super Equinox Full Moon’ visible the whole night from Brunei Darussalam on 20th (Wednesday) and 21st (Thursday) March 2019.

Supermoon occurs on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 2:37 am at its closest distance (Perigee) of 359 345 km to Earth. The moon will be slightly bigger than a normal moon, but only by a few percents.

Spring Equinox occurs on Thursday, March 21, 2019 at 5:59 am. The sun rises exactly due East and sets due West. Day and night have the same length.

Full Moon occurs on Thursday, March 21, 2019 at 9:43 am. On this day, Earth is between the moon and the sun, and the moon is visible during the whole night.

February 19, 2019February 22, 2019

2019 Feb 19 Hypnotising Supermoon Lights Up Brunei Sky

Bandar Seri Begawan – An unusual full moon light “hypnotised” many skywatchers to a rare celestial display around the world including Brunei Darussalam on Tuesday night, 19 Feb 2019.

The super moon was the biggest and brightest in 2019 because its orbit is at its closest to earth or at perigee at around 356,800km.

At such shortest distance, the Earth’s only natural satellite appeared nearly 30% brighter and almost 14% bigger than a typical full moon. Some effects of the moon’s gravitational pull at our oceans was more pronounced than other times of the month, generating higher than normal high tides or Spring Tides.

Below, some of the best shots of it from around the Sultanate.

Tag: moon