Lunar eclipse recorded

BANDUNG, West Java: A team of students and lecturers on Sunday night succeeded in recording a penumbral lunar eclipse.

Team members were anxious on Sunday afternoon because the skies above Bosscha Observatory in Lembang were cloudy and there was a continuous drizzle since noon, Antara reported.

Recording of all phases was not possible as dark clouds led to only a split second glimpse of the full moon before the eclipse.

The contact of the moon with the penumbra was estimated to have begun at 9:04 p.m. and lasted until 1:30 a.m. Monday.

Nandang, a last year astronomy student at the Bandung Institute of Technology, said he could only record the apex of the eclipse at 11:17 p.m., and the end when the full moon was again in sight.

At least 15 callers from Greater Jakarta and West Java called to ask why the moon was still shining during the eclipse. Team members chaired by lecturer Ferry Simatupang said during a penumbral eclipse, unlike a total eclipse, the naked eye cannot discern changes in the moon.