Bandar Seri Begawan – People in Brunei Darussalam is set to witness a rare astronomical event when the Moon passes in front of the Venus causing the bright planet to temporarily disappear from the night sky on March 24, 2023.

During the lunar occultation, the Moon is perfectly aligned to pass in front of the brightest planet which is visible only from a limited part of the world.

The astronomical phenomenon will be visible from regions in South Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia including Brunei.

Observing Venus

Currently, the evening planet Venus shines brightly at magnitude -4.0, which makes it easily visible to the unaided eyes in sky after sunset. In fact, it is the third brightest celestial body in the sky after the Sun and the Moon.

An hour after sunset, Venus will appear like a bright “star” just a few degrees away from the Moon, which offers an eye-catching view of the two celestial bodies in the evening skies.

Timings of Occultation

If weather permitting, stargazers in Brunei should be able to see the brilliant “evening star” (which is in fact Venus) approaching close the Moon just before the occultation.

According to the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA), Venus disappears behind the Moon at 8.05 p.m. from Brunei Darussalam. As this occultation involves the 3 day-old waxing lunar crescent, Venus will hide behind the unilluminated side of the moon.

The planet will then re-emerge from behind the moon’s sunlit edge approximately 28 minutes later, at 8.33 p.m. From Brunei, the reappearance will occur at a low altitude of about 2 degrees, and a clear unobstructed view of West horizon is needed to sight the unique event.

In the past, occultations was used for scientific purposes such as refining the Moon’s profile (e.g. shape of the lunar limb) and its orbit properties.

Rare Event

The last disappearance act of Venus behind the moon happened during the daylight of May 27, 2022. The Moon-Venus occultation from Brunei will not happen again until 16 years, on May 27, 2039.

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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.

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

The Moon will pass in front of Mars, creating a lunar occultation visible from only small region of central Asia including Brunei Darussalam.

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

The celestial spectacle will occur at exactly 9:29 p.m from Brunei when the Moon quickly covers Mars up.

The bright planet Mars will slip behind the moon’s dark side and will be visible to the naked eyes. From Brunei, the Moon will be very low on the horizon during the event, and lunar gazer must be at location with unobstructed view of the Western sky.

Occultation Rarity

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

During the eight millennium period 2000BC – 6000AD, somewhere on the Earth will experience a total of 118,243 occultations of the planets. In the case for Mars occultation, the average is about 2 occultations per year around the world.

The Previous Mars occultation from Brunei happened in May 2008. The next similar occurrence in Brunei is set to take place 77 years later, on February 7, 2098.

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