Stargazers blessed to catch meteor shower
KUDAT: The Rungus in Matunggong, near Kudat, are perhaps the only people in the country to have had an unhindered view of the Perseid meteor shower.
As the rest of the country, including a large part of Sabah, was blanketed by thick cloud cover and rain on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, the small town, located halfway between Kota Belud and Kudat town, enjoyed the best view of the celestial display.
Stargazers came out as early as 10pm on Saturday as Christianto Mogolid, the co-founder of Big Picture Photography – an online digital photography education and workshops site – said Rungus elders view the meteor shower as a blessing.
“In Rungus tradition, we believe those who see falling stars are blessed with good fortune and would also have their wishes granted,” he said.
He said the meteor shower peaked at 1.30am and lasted until dawn.
“There were trails of shooting stars every now and then. I lost count of the number,” he said.
Mogolid said they managed to photograph many “fireballs” entering the atmosphere.
Starfinder Astronomical Society adviser Pang Kip Pin, 58, also got a glimpse of meteors with friends, in Kepong.
“I saw two meteors after the clouds dispersed,” he said.
Zabidi Majid, 30, and his wife Nursolehah Shahruddin, 29, were left disappointed after driving all the way from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson only to find it raining.
“When we arrived in PD, there were already a few groups of people at the beach. We decided not to wait too long and drove back home at around 1am,” said the biotechnologist.