Last Total Lunar Eclipse of 2022

The moon that rose in the skies across Indonesia on Tuesday evening (8/11/2022) had an unusual appearance.

IVAN DWI KURNIA PUTRA

Enthusiasts watched the total lunar eclipse using telescope at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Tuesday (08/11/2022). The natural phenomenon was the last total lunar eclipsed visible from Earth until 2025.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The moon appeared a brick red hue, especially in western Indonesia, due to the total lunar eclipse. Some people could view it, but others could not because of rain.

The lunar eclipse on Tuesday evening was the last total lunar eclipse of the year. The next total lunar eclipse will occur only in 2025. In 2023 and 2024, according to the data cited by Fred Espenak in the Lunar Eclipses: 2021-2030 home page of NASA, the United States space agency, no total lunar eclipse will be visible from Earth.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

The total lunar eclipse seen from courtyard of Masjid Al Akbar Mosque, Surabaya, East Java, Tuesday (8/11/2022).

The last total lunar eclipse could be observed from across Indonesia, but not all phases of the eclipse could be seeb. This was because the moon had not risen when the initial phase of the eclipse began in the afternoon in Indonesia. As a result, when the moon rose across the country on Tuesday evening, the moon was already in an eclipse. The moonrise varied in each region, from 5:18 p.m. WIT (Eastern Indonesian Time) in Jayapura, Papua, to 6:16 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Time) in Banda Aceh, Aceh.

Eastern Indonesia was the best location to view the eclipse. People there could not only see the initial phase of the penumbral lunar eclipse, namely when the moon entered the Earth's penumbra, or the outer part of its shadow. However, missing this phase was not too much of a loss, because the change in the moon’s color during a penumbral lunar eclipse is difficult to observe with the nakaed eye.

One part of the moon was a dark, red-orange shade, while the other part was still bright yellow.

People in eastern Indonesia would have also seen that the rising moon was a partial lunar eclipse. One part of the moon was a dark, red-orange shade, while the other part was still bright yellow.

People in Semarang, Central Java, watched the total lunar eclipse with enthusiasm at the planetarium of Walisongo State Islamic University (UIN). The event, which saw hundreds of people gather from various areas of the city, began by screening a simulation video of a lunar eclipse. The audience was then given a presentation that explained the phenomenon of lunar eclipses and related local myths.

The lunar eclipse began to rise at 6:02 p.m., and the participants applauded loudly. Almost everyone took out their cameras or cellphones to record the visual phenomenon of the Moon, Sun, and Earth in alignment.

Rain

In Jakarta, some people witnessed the total lunar eclipse through a telescope provided by the management of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Planetarium and Observatory in Cikini, Central Jakarta. However, a few minutes before the total lunar eclipse peaked, the Cikini area was hit by heavy rain. As a result, the local residents were unable to witness the phenomenon.

Muhammad Rayhan, an astronomer at the TIM Planetarium and Observatory, explained that most people would be able to see the total lunar eclipse, which would occur from 3:02 p.m. to 8:56 p.m. in Greater Jakarta.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Some staff observed total lunar eclipsed from the office roof of Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophisic Agency in Denpasar, Bali, Tuesday (8/11/2022).

"TIM is collaborating with various parties at 21 locations to monitor the eclipse and the results of these observations,” he said, noting that people in Kediri, East Java, and Ambon, Maluku, would be able to see the total lunar eclipse.

The rain also blocked the view of people who were watching for the total lunar eclipse at the Sumatra Institute of Technology. Robiatul Muztaba, an atmospheric and planetary science lecturer at the university, said the moon could not be observed with either a telescope or the naked eye because of the cloudy and rainy weather in Lampung.

“The weather condition is very dark and cloudy. We cannot observe the process of a total lunar eclipse," said Robiatul.

The Sumatra Institute of Technology’s Astronomical Observatory was also monitoring the lunar eclipse in Lampung.

According to reports from monitoring centers in other locations, cloudy and rainy weather obscured the eclips in most parts of Sumatra and Java, while the total lunar eclipse was reportedly observed in East Java and Papua. (MZW/VIO/XTI/Z04)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.