Astronomers-to-be help record rare ring solar eclipse
Astronomers-to-be help record rare ring solar eclipse
Text and photos by IGGP Bayu Ismoyo
DUMAI, Riau (JP): A flurry of activity was seen here Saturday
in response to a rare event: a ring solar eclipse.
A group of astronomy students from the Bandung Institute of
Technology were among observers who decided that Riau, one of the
areas along the eclipse's path, was a good spot to record the
phenomenon, believed to be the region's last this century.
It took the students, accompanied by professor Mudji Raharto,
two days to drive from Bandung to their destination. They stopped
to pray and wash at mosques, and ate at restaurants along the
Trans-Sumatra Highway. The 20-member group arrived on Aug. 18 and
split up into five teams.
Three teams set about informing the community on how to best
appreciate the natural wonder, while the other two teams surveyed
several sites to determine the best observation spot.
They settled on two spots: Dumai's Pinangkampai Airport and
Makmur Bay.
The community teams cooperated with schools and a local radio
station, CDS to disseminate information on what causes an eclipse
and how to safely view one. The station put on a 90 minute live
broadcast in which the students explained about the eclipse to
callers from the listening audience.
Some of the students made paper "sun glasses", or solar ray
filters, for residents to view the eclipse while the whole group
hurriedly worked on their preparations from morning to past
midnight before the eclipse was to occur early Saturday.
A single question hovered over the group as dawn approached:
Would there be any rain or clouds obstructing their view? If so,
all of their efforts and the long journey would come to naught.
A drizzle did begin to fall, subsiding soon before the eclipse
was to come. Clouds, however, remained. Telescopes, cameras,
compasses and other equipment stood ready.
At 6:10, when the eclipse began, clouds still obscured the
view and attempts to record the phenomenon failed. Then the sun
slowly appeared. Then the long-awaited two minutes came: from
7:15 a ring-like image of the sun was recorded as the moon stood
directly between the sun and the Earth.
Residents cried out "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) as the
morning seemed to turn again to night. The young aspiring
astronomers, already veterans of a few eclipses, simply smiled at
one another from their posts, saying: "We made it."