People gather to witness the blue moon, supermoon, total lunar eclipse phenomenon
KOTA KINABALU: Some 1,000 people from al l walks of li fe gathered at the Tun Mustapha Tower last night to witness the ‘once in a blue moon’ event dubbed as the celestial triplet phenomenon.
The celestial triplet phenomenon is where a blue moon, supermoon and total lunar eclipse become visible in the sky. It last occurred about 152 years ago.
According to Sabah Stargazers, a local association of astronomy enthusiasts, Sabahans are lucky to be blessed with one of the best views of the rare phenomenon.
“Sabah’s beauty is actually not just about its diving activities or Gunung Kinabalu. Sabah is also beauti ful because of its magnificent skies,” said its outreach programme manager Emma Zulaiha Zulkifli.
She said in Sabah, people are able to get an even clearer view of the skies, compared to the other states in the country.
“Sabah is the heaven of stars as it has the least amount of light pollution in the country.
“Tonight’s event is about the observation of the full moon eclipse. In conjunction with the said event, Sabah Stargazers had prepared live TV streaming and telescopes for guests who wish to observe the moon here at Tun Mustapha Tower,” Emma Zulaiha said, adding that the association had also provided a live recording of the event on its Facebook page.
Some of the guests had even brought their own telescopes to be shared with the public.
Apart from that, the event featured quizzes on astronomy for guests, who comprised locals, students and even foreigners.
Student Mohamad Haziq Fikhrullah Awang Majin, 16, who was invited to join the programme, said he was happy to have witnessed the rare phenomenon with his own eyes.
“I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. The view of the moon tonight was certainly a blessing from God,” he said.
The SMK Agama Tun Ahmadsyah boarding school student said he rarely gets the chance to go out and experience such programmes.
As a member of his school’s aerospace enthusiasts club, Mohamad Haziq said he was grateful to have learned more about his favourite subject through last night’s event.
The total eclipse began at 8.51pm where the moon became completely red, with the maximum eclipse phase at 9.29pm. This is when the moon is closest to the centre of the shadow.
The overall eclipse is expected to end around 12.08am today.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).
This would only when the sun, Earth, and moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.
A supermoon occurs when the moon is less than 360,000km away from Earth, and no special equipment is needed for people to view this phenomenon.