Avid gazers turn up in full force

PETALING JAYA: All bright and sunny despite the early hour, Malaysians turned up at the National Planetarium to observe the partial solar eclipse.

Despite having to wake up earlier than usual, student Alyssa Yew, 19, was happy. She said it was worth it because the solar eclipse was the star of the show.

The National Space Agency (Ang­ka­sa) tracked the partial solar eclipse from 7.24am to 9.31am.

For these avid gazers, they knew that they would have to wait until Dec 26, 2019, if they missed yesterday’s event.

Educator Hoo Chee Keong, 48, recounted how he had used water to see the reflections of the eclipse when he was in secondary school.

“One of the reasons why I am here is that we can get free glasses from the Planetarium (to see the eclipse),” he said.

Hoo, who is looking forward to seeing the next eclipse in 2019, said yesterday’s event was a good experience for him and his children.

Harith Iskandar Saiful Fahme, 17, who is the chairman of the astronomy club of his school, said this was the first time he witnessed such an event although he had previously seen the eclipse of the moon.

For others like student Vidya J. Tejani, 20, they are already planning the next outing.

“My lecturer has suggested that we meet in 2019 and watch the eclipse again. It will be a good experience for all of us,” said Vidya.

Angkasa research officer Lau Chen Chen said there was a maximum coverage of 87% as seen in Kuching.

“The percentage of coverage is lower at the northern part of Malay­sia,” she said.

“The coverage (for Kuala Lumpur) is 79.4% (which is) better than previously,” citing the coverage in 2010 was only around 40%.