| Azlan Othman |
IF THE sky is clear, people in Brunei will have the chance to witness two very rare astronomical phenomena – a planetary opposition and a moon eclipse – tomorrow night, said General-Secretary of the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad.
On July 27 at around 10pm, the red planet Mars will be directly opposite to the Sun and at the same time being at closest distance from the Earth at about 56 million kilometres. Mars will appear 10 times brighter than usual, at magnitude -2.8 on that night. We will not witness an opposition this favourable again until September 15, 2035.
According to Hazarry, stargazers should be able to see the red planet appear as a very bright reddish “star” rising on the eastern sky at around 8pm from Brunei.
“The second cosmic highlight of the night is a total lunar eclipse, known as the Blood Moon, in the early hours of Saturday. During the eclipse, the Earth will be moving directly between the Sun and the Moon. It will begin when the full moon enters the Earth’s shadow (Penumbra) at 1.14am on July 28. About an hour later, the partial phase will begin at 2.24am when the moon begins to be covered by the dark Earth’s shadow, the Umbra,” he said.
Hazarry said the moon will be completely red for one hour 43 minutes during total phase from 3.30am, making the phenomenon the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st Century.
“Such long duration of total lunar eclipses had occurred on July 16, 2000 for a totality duration of one hour 46 minutes and another on June 15, 2011 for a totality duration of one hour 40 minutes. On average, the totality lasts approximately one hour to one hour and 30 minutes during moon eclipse. The next total lunar eclipse that will last that long will not occur until 2123,” he noted.
It will be a spectacular night as the brilliant planet Mars will be near to the reddish-orange glow of the eclipsed moon, both visible with the naked eye.
The entire eclipse can be viewed from Brunei until moon set at 6.23am, Hazarry said.
There will be a public observation of the phenomena at Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas, Bandar Seri Begawan from 7pm tomorrow until 5.30am.
Telescopes will be set up for public viewing and astronomy talks will be conducted free of charge at the venue.
Members of public are invited to bring binoculars or telescopes to enjoy viewing the lunar eclipse.
The event is co-organised by the Survey Department of the Ministry of Development, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali and the Astronomical Society of Brunei Darussalam.
Total lunar eclipse is very rare and only 30 per cent of all lunar eclipses are total.
The next lunar eclipse visible in Brunei will take place on July 17 next year, but it will be a partial one.
On December 26 next year, people in Brunei will be experien-cing a partial solar eclipse when the moon passes in front of the Sun.