Lunar eclipse like a bite out of moon

SYDNEY - Agence France-Presse

AP photo

The first partial lunar eclipse of the year provided dramatic scenes across Asia late June 4, with a clear moon visible to many as the event unfolded.

While Australia and the east of Japan watched as the Earth slid between the Moon and the Sun, casting a grey shadow over the satellite, those hoping to view the eclipse in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur were thwarted by cloud cover. “It does look a bit odd because it’s not like a normal crescent moon,” said Jonti Horner from the Astrophysics Department of Sydney’s University of New South Wales. “It looks like a bite has been taken out of the moon,” he told Agence France-Presse as he watched the sky.

In Japan about 20 people gathered at an astronomical observatory 367 meters above sea level in Rikubetsu on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Hundreds of people who flocked to the National Planetarium in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur after sunset to witness the spectacle were left disappointed by the clouds and instead were shown films on astronomy.

Skywatchers in the Indonesian capital were luckier as the weather cleared to give them a view of the phenomena for 90 minutes.

“It’s so interesting because you don’t get to see an eclipse like this every year,” said Ichshan Ramadan, 15, a member of a local astronomy club.

Skywatchers in the Pacific and East Asia were expected to have the best view of the eclipse, weather permitting.

Most of Australia, all of New Zealand, the nations of the South Pacific and Papua New Guinea were due to see it in full, while Southeast Asia, Eastern China, Japan and Korea were to witness most of it.
The next transit will not take place until 2117.