Longest eclipse, planet semi-dark

BY PMA RASHEED/ AGENCIES

The Gulf Today, 16 Jan 2010

A solar eclipse that reduced the sun to a blazing ring surrounding a sombre disk plunged millions of people in Africa and Asia into an eerie semi-darkness on Friday.

The spectacle, visible in a roughly 300-kilometre band running 12,900 kilometres across the globe, set a record for the longest annular eclipse that will remain unbeaten for more than a thousand years.

Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri, Chairman of Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) told The Gulf Today that the momentous phenomenon of the solar eclipse with the longest duration won't be flashing its presence for another 1,000 years.

"The annular easily became visible to eclipse observers in the UAE, starting from Abu Dhabi and moving on to Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah," he added.

Al Hariri pointed out that such a long solar eclipse won't happen again until Dec.23 in 3043. The name annular means the outside of the sun. A normal eclipse usually does not last beyond five minutes. So, eleven minutes duration is a rare happening.

An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun but does not completely obscure it, thus leaving a ring -- an annulus -- of sunlight flaring around the lunar disk.

The Moon's shadow first struck the southwestern tip of Chad and western Central African Republic at 0514 GMT (9.14am, UAE) and then reached Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia before racing across India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China.

Local media in the affected areas issued warnings about the dangers of looking directly at the sun, but fascinated onlookers thronged streets to witness the celestial phenomenon.

"It's getting interesting.

Birds are singing.

It's actually getting cold here," said John Saitega, a 34-year-old father of six in Olte Tefi, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Nairobi.

In India, where the eclipse was visible from the southern-most tip, astronomers and curious spectators watched in awe, using sunglasses and even ultra-dark welding masks as day turned into darkness.

There were cheers and applause in the city of Bangalore when clouds cleared just in time to show the Moon glide into position to cover about 85 per cent of the Sun.

Veteran eclipse chaser Daniel Fischer from German astronomy magazine Interstellarum picked a vantage spot on a cliff in Varkala, 62 kilometres north of the city of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala.

"I'm thrilled.

My first eclipse was Indonesia in 1983," said Fischer, who has witnessed 23 eclipses in total.

The Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched three small rockets on Thursday and another five on Friday to study the effects of the event on the atmosphere.

"We will compare the data obtained on normal days with data during and immediately after the eclipse to study the difference," project director P.Ratnakar Rao said from Thiruvananthapuram.

The eclipse, which was followed live on cable television in India and China, temporarily put a halt to the world's biggest religious gathering in northern India.

Temples in Haridwar, site of the Kumbh Mela which sees millions of Hindus bathe in the holy river Ganges, were closed for the duration of the eclipse because the phenomenon is considered inauspicious, an organiser said.

Residents in the Ugandan capital Kampala got a good view, although some were afraid of the intensity of the light, with many sharing dark glasses to gaze up at the sky.

"Can't it burn someone? You can't even look direct because I'm fearing for my eyes. I'm fearing it can burn me," said Angela Namukwaya, a shopkeeper in a Kampala suburb.

The maximum duration of "annularity" -- the time the moon is in front of the sun -- was 11 minutes, eight seconds at 07.06 GMT (11.06am, UAE), making it "the longest annular eclipse of the 3rd Millennium," according to Nasa.

Only on December 23, 3043 will this record be beaten.

In China's capital, Beijing, a partial eclipse made a crescent of the setting orange sun before the lunar shadow expired over the Shandong peninsula at 0859 GMT.

"It's cool.

The weather conditions are pretty good.

It's really rather magnificent," said one male Beijing high school student, one of about 40 observing the eclipse from Coal Hill, overlooking the Forbidden City.

When the eclipse passed by

Longest solar spectacle: wait for next one another 1,000 years- in 3043

BY PMA RASHEED

The Gulf Today, 16 Jan 2010

The millennium's longest and ring-like solar eclipse turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for thousands of people across the UAE on Friday.

The phenomenon lasted for 11 minutes and eight seconds at its peak over the Indian Ocean. Astronomers of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) in Houston said the eclipse was visible on a 300km track that traversed the central Africa, the Indian Ocean and eastern Asia.

Over UAE

As eclipse path travelled over the UAE, the moon obscured up to 34 per cent - a third - of the sun's disk between 9.15am to 12.29 noon over the country's skies between 9.15am and 12.26pm, reaching its peak at 10.46am, according to a senior astronomer.

Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri, Chairman of Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) told The Gulf Today that the momentous phenomenon of the solar eclipse with the longest duration won't be flashing its presence for another 1,000 years. He pointed out that such a long solar eclipse won't happen again until Dec.23 in the year 3043.

"The annular easily became visible to observers in the UAE, starting from Abu Dhabi and moving on to Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah," he added.

Hundreds delight

Benefited by the weekend holiday, hundreds of astronomy enthusiasts, joining billions of spectators across the world, gathered in various parts of the UAE to have a glimpse of the historic partial eclipse and grab their life's never-to-happen-again experience.

Viewers in the UAE mainly congregated in Sharjah Science Museum's facilities, Dubai's New World Private School, and the Emirates Heritage Club in Abu Dhabi corniche where special telescopes had been set up to observe annular, the first solar eclipse of 2010.

The Emirates Heritage Club's Amateur Astronomy Club arranged a 7-inch Meade telescope on Abu Dhabi Corniche to view the eclipse safely for the public.

The Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG) organised an eclipse observation camp between 9am and 11am at the New World Private School campus located in Tawar area. The observatory witnessed above 600 visitors, out of which 200 were distributed special eclipse glasses that have a darkened film, which blocks 99.99 per cent of the sun's harmful rays, said Al Hariri.

"The organisation set up six observatory telescopes, in which the biggest one was the 16-inch sized Meade LX 400 that projected the size of the sun "live" on a large screen at the school. Other normal telescopes were sized 8-inch, 5-inch and 3-inch solar scopes," he noted.

Hundreds of people have thronged the eclipse observatory in Sharjah's Science Museum, the first interactive Science and Technology Centre in the UAE.

'Annular' wonder

"The phenomenon made up for being the second-best kind of eclipse, also the most favourite one, if we consider the total kinds of solar eclipses, as it offered exceptional duration," Al Hariri added.

The name annular means the outside of the sun. A normal eclipse usually does not last beyond five minutes. So, eleven minutes duration is a rare happening.

Eclipse's path

Al Hariri said the path of the solar eclipse began in the westernmost part of the Central African Republic, and swept through Uganda, Kenya and Southern Somalia.

"After tracking across the Indian Ocean, the eclipse made landfall again between the Southern tip of India and the Northern Sri Lanka. It then swept over the Bay of Bengal to Burma, and then to China," he added. "The partial eclipse was visible within the much broader path of the moon's penumbral shadow, which includes Eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia, and Indonesia," explained Al Hariri.

Al Hariri gave a scientific account of the Friday's eclipse, "Two big sun spots were visible at this eclipse. The sun spot is a vent where particles are coming out of the inner portion of the sun to the space, as an explosion."

Hundreds of astronomers from across the world moved to Indian Ocean's Maldives, where the eclipse made its presence for the longest duration. The sun was almost totally obscured over the Indian Ocean at 11.06am local time.

Shower of meteors to light up the UAE sky

BY PMA RASHEED
The Gulf Today, 12 Aug 2009

Hundreds of meteors will be visible showering over the sky of the UAE in an unusual astronomical phenomenon on Thursday early morning and residents will be able to observe the nature's fireworks.
Dubai's Margham desert area, about 50 kilometres off the city, is the perfect spot to watch the wonder, as the remote area is dark and secluded to enjoy the showering of meteors, according to Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG).
The DAG has arranged a meteor observation trip with all facilities for the public to the Margham desert camp, where astronomical enthusiasts can enjoy the spectacle with up to 10 meteors falling in a minute.
Hasan Ahmad Al Hariri, President of DAG, told The Gulf Today that the Perseids spectacle appears to emanate from the constellation in the northern sky called Parshawyyat (Bearer of Ghoul's head in Arabic). The Perseus is named after the Greek_hero Perseus.
"The Perseids meteors are supposed to be the debris of dirt and ice, falling from the comet named Swift-Tuttle. We will be able to watch the meteors like a lightening straight line moving in the sky as fast as 11 to 72 km per second. It's a celestial incident that had already begun on 17th of last month and runs until Aug.24," said Hariri.
"But the climax of the meteors show will be unveiled on Thursday early morning. The meteors usually fall in the month of August. In the coming couple of days, one of the best showering of the shooting stars can be spectacularly visible as they reach the peak," he added.
Desert Camp
According to him, the spectacle cannot be viewed from parts of the city due to the density of buildings as well as the light spread all over.
Hariri said, "It's the reason for selecting Margham desert area as the ideal spot where people can watch the meteors display under total darkness. Interested people can get together outside Emirates Coop Society in Al Tawar-2 at 9pm on Wednesday in their own vehicles and go in convoy to Margham camp guided by astronomists and officials of the Dubai Astronomy Group."
He pointed out, "Perseids meteor showering is one of the best happenings this year. Even though, the spectacle happens regularly, this particular incident is unique because of the brightness and frequency of the falling meteors."
"As the chances for observing the meteors at night is limited by the presence of a bright moon, we encourage people to move out of the city, especially avoid beaches and similar areas within the city to avoid light pollution," he suggested.
Meteors
Hariri explained that the eteors are discovered in the year 1862. The rocky debris falling from wandering comets takes shape as the shooting stars filling the sky with dazzling colours during the particular time of the night.
"They are small marble size pebbles with mud which usually burn up in the atmosphere. But it is visible occasionally, with fireballs burning up immediately after touching the atmosphere," he added.
According to him, the falling rocks from the annual passing of a comet are created at the outer rims of the solar system. They warm up as they move towards the sun and the ice melts and evaporates taking large pieces of mud with it and leaving a tail behind the comet.
"The planet earth passes near the path annually, so the small dust balls come from the material in the tail. The comet takes about 130 years to orbit the sun. The meteors melt as they penetrate the hemisphere because of their friction with the higher air layers of the earth," he added.