GERHANA bulan separa di langit Ishinomaki, Jepun
Gerhana bulan separa di Asia
Kosmo Online
SYDNEY – Fenomena gerhana bulan separa pertama pada tahun ini dapat dilihat oleh kebanyakan orang di sebahagian kawasan di Asia.
Di Australia dan timur Jepun, fenomena itu dapat dilihat apabila bumi
bergerak antara bulan dan matahari sehingga meninggalkan satu
bayang-bayang kelabu.
“Ia kelihatan agak ganjil kerana keadaannya tidak seperti bulan sabit
normal. Ia seperti satu gigitan yang dikeluarkan daripada bulan,” kata
Jonti Horner dari Jabatan Astrofizik, Universiti New South Wales,
Sydney.
Sementara itu, beratus-ratus orang yang membanjiri Planetarium
Negara, Kuala Lumpur untuk menyaksikan fenomena itu kecewa kerana ruang
angkasa dilitupi awan.
Namun, orang ramai di Jakarta bertuah kerana cuaca ketika itu begitu
baik dan memberi peluang mereka melihat fenomena tersebut selama 90
minit.
“Ia merupakan sesuatu yang amat menarik kerana anda tidak akan
melihat gerhana seperti ini pada setiap tahun,” kata seorang anggota
sebuah kelab astronomi, Ichshan Ramadan.
– AFP
Asia witnesses partial lunar eclipse
A partial eclipse occurs when Earth slides between the moon and the sun (AFP, Torsten Blackwood)
SYDNEY — The first partial lunar eclipse of the year provided
dramatic scenes across Asia late Monday, with a clear moon visible to
many as the event unfolded.
While Australia and the east of Japan
watched as the Earth slid between the Moon and the Sun, casting a grey
shadow over the satellite, those hoping to view the eclipse in Tokyo and
Kuala Lumpur were thwarted by cloud cover.
"It does look a bit
odd because it's not like a normal crescent moon," said Jonti Horner
from the astrophysics department of Sydney's University of New South
Wales.
"It looks like a bite has been taken out of the moon," he told AFP as he watched the sky.
Fred
Watson, astronomer-in-charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory in
western New South Wales, said: "A partial eclipse of the moon is the
kind of thing that happens every few years but it's still worth looking
at because of its astronomical interest."
In Japan about 20 people
gathered at an astronomical observatory 367 metres (1,200 feet) above
sea level in Rikubetsu on the northern island of Hokkaido.
"People
started to utter such words in admiration as 'it's beautiful' and 'it's
awesome' as the eclipse neared its maximum level," Noriko Sasaki, a
worker at the observatory, said by telephone.
Hundreds of people
who flocked to the National Planetarium in the Malaysian capital Kuala
Lumpur after sunset to witness the spectacle were left disappointed by
the clouds and instead were shown films on astronomy.
Skywatchers in the Indonesian capital were luckier as the weather cleared to give them a view of the phenomena for 90 minutes.
A participant peers through a telescope to view a partial lunar eclipse in Jakarta (AFP, Oscar Siagian)
"It's
so interesting because you don't get to see an eclipse like this every
year," said Ichshan Ramadan, 15, a member of a local astronomy club.
Monday's
eclipse is part of a rare double show this week which includes the
Transit of Venus -- one of the most eagerly awaited events in the
astronomical calendar.
Skywatchers in the Pacific and East Asia were expected to have the best view of the eclipse, weather permitting.
Most
of Australia, all of New Zealand, the nations of the South Pacific and
Papua New Guinea were due to see it in full, while Southeast Asia,
Eastern China, Japan and Korea were to witness most of it.
It will
not be visible in Europe or Africa, but people in western North America
and Mexico will see it at the end stages when the Moon sets.
"Actual eclipses are relatively common, there are usually about two a year," Watson said.
"But
what makes them kind of rare is that they are not all visible from
everywhere, and in particular solar eclipses really are only visible
from a very small part of the Earth's surface."
On Tuesday, North
America will get to see the early stage of the Transit of Venus which
occurs when Venus passes between Earth and the Sun, appearing under
magnification as a small black dot that trots across the solar face.
The next transit will not take place until 2117.
Australia,
New Zealand, the South Pacific, Japan and Korea, as well as most of
China and much of Southeast Asia, will be able to see the entire
transit, lasting six hours, 40 minutes, in what will be Wednesday
morning their time.
South Asia, the Middle East and Europe will get the end part, when they enter sunrise on Wednesday.
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.
