Solar eclipse: overcast JB sky leaves astronomy fans downcast

JOHOR BARU – About 20 members of the Johor Astronomy Club expressed disappointment at the overcast sky that prevented them from witnessing for themselves a partial solar eclipse, after waiting for almost two hours at Gerbang Mahkota Istana Bukit Serene here today.

However, the club’s founder, Mohd Nazam Anuar, 46, said images of the partial solar eclipse were successfully recorded by one of its members, Zaki Aziz, using an eight-inch Dobsonian type telescope in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.

“Alhamdulillah, through our members in Kuala Terengganu, we managed to record and make a live stream via Johor Astronomy Club’s Facebook. We could capture the images of the hybrid solar eclipse from the minimum at 11am until the maximum at noon.

“What is unique about our club is that our members are not only in Malaysia, but also in (other parts of) Asia and Europe. So, although it was not visible here, we have several groups that are also monitoring and recording this phenomenon in other locations,” he said when met here today.

Nazam said the club, which was founded in 2014, has about 200 members not only around Malaysia but also from overseas, namely Pakistan, India, Brunei, and Ireland.

To observe the solar eclipse today, he said there were 50 groups that had already prepared with their respective equipment in several locations in Johor, Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak.

Nazam said throughout the month of Ramadan, the club also managed to capture the image of the new moon of the holy month on March 22, images of the Milky Way on March 24, and the conjunction of the crescent moon and Uranus on April 16.

“We want to raise public awareness about astronomy and if possible make such observations a community activity… during the days when the new moon is observed in Ramadan, there are aunts and uncles in the surrounding area who join us because they have never seen a new moon,” he said.

Meanwhile, a young enthusiast, Muhammad Afif Syahmi Azfanizam, aged 9, said he and his father, Azfanizam Abdul Aziz, 41, had been preparing since this morning to see the eclipse with his mother, older sister, and younger sister.

“(I) always look at the moon using a telescope at home, once a month,” said Afif Syahmi, who shares an interest in astronomy with his father

For teacher Siti Mardiah Md Sharum, 45, she and her family are astronomy enthusiasts and have been following the club’s activities through Facebook since 2019.

The next solar eclipse is expected in August 2027. – Bernama, April 20, 2023