A GROUP of astronomy enthusiasts who had gathered on a rooftop in Yangon last Tuesday to witness the last lunar eclipse of the year were disappointed when the celestial event was obscured by cloudy skies.

Although stargazers realised there was little hope of getting a clear look at the eclipse during monsoon season, a group of enthusiasts decided to take their chances by meeting on the roof of a four-storey building in Tarmwe township at 4pm on August 19.

U Thein Myint, the leader of the group, said lunar eclipses occur twice every year when the sun, earth and moon are in alignment and the shadow of the earth falls on the moon.

“This time Myanmar fell in the penumbra, which is the faint, outer part of the earth’s shadow, so it was not a good place to view the eclipse. Countries in Pacific Ocean region were in the umbra, which is the cone shadow part of the earth, so they had the best view,” he said.

He said that according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website, the eclipse occurred in Myanmar from 6:29pm to 6:50pm local time.

However, although it was not raining at the time of the eclipse, the western sky where the moon was located was obscured by clouds and evening mists, hiding the celestial phenomenon from the eyes of viewers.

Ko Theik Tun, a young astronomy enthusiast, came to the gathering with a laptop computer equipped with astronomy software that showed a simulated view of the western sky in real time.

At 6:19pm the software indicated that the moon had begun to rise in the western horizon but the arc of the actual moon could not be seen in the cloud-covered sky.

Three students from Horizon International School in Yangon, who will participate in the International Astrophysics and Astronomy Olympics to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, next month, were also among the group.

Lin Htet Oo, a grade 10 student at the school, said he had come to the rooftop to get real-time experience testing his practical and theoretical astronomy skills.

But with the moon still a no-show at 7pm, the students had to be satisfied with explanations and descriptions of the eclipse supplied by U Thein Myint, the group’s most experienced astronomer.

“I’m upset that we missed the eclipse but it wouldn’t have been the first one I’ve seen. And now we have a solar eclipse to look forward to next month,” said Ko Theik Tun as he left for home.

Meanwhile, some Yangon residents had been excited by a rumour that the planet Mars would pass so close to the earth on August 28 that its brightness would rival that of the moon in the sky.

However, U Thein Myint said the notion was absurd.

“In 2003 Mars came as close to the earth as it had in years and even then it wasn’t nearly as bright as the moon,” he said.