ITB Conducts Eclipse Observation Sessions in Bandung City
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – For its rarity, eclipses have always captivated the interest of the public as well as academicians. On Thursday (20/4), Indonesia had the opportunity to witness a hybrid solar eclipse.
According to a statement from BMKG, a hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon, and earth align perfectly with one another. As a result, the observed lunar disk is smaller than the solar disk at one point while having the same size at another location.
Welcoming this phenomenon, the Astronomy Study Program of ITB opened several observation points in Bandung: Bosscha Observatory, ITB BSCA Ganesha Building, and ITB CAS Ganesha Building.
Lucky Puspitarini, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., a professor from the ITB FMNS Astronomy Research Group, explained that 78 people were joining in the observation at Bosscha Observatory and BSCA, with those visiting Bosscha Observatory via invitation. Moreover, BSCA did not accept visits because of the limited space of the place.
She further explained that the eclipse observations at the Bosscha Observatory were conducted using solar telescopes. Visitors who came to the observatory had to fill in an RSVP before being borrowed sunglasses to view the eclipse using portable telescopes safely.
Lucky acknowledged that the eclipse observations in Bandung City could have been better than Kisar Island; the team could only see a partial solar eclipse due to the city's geography. "Our location does not lie in the umbra of the eclipse, but in its penumbra, allowing us to view a partial solar eclipse.”
During the eclipse, the first contact was expected to occur at 09:28 WIB, with the e eclipse peak visible at 10.45 WIB. The fourth and final contact occurred at 12.08 WIB.
Reporter: Kevin Agriva Ginting (Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)
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