Asia skywatchers witness partial lunar eclipse

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

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.

In Japan about 20 people gathered at an astronomical observatory 367 metres (1,200 feet) 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.

Monday’s eclipse is part of a rare double show this week which includes the Transit of Venus — one of the most eagerly awaited events in the astronomical calendar.

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.