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S’poreans flock outdoors for early morning solar date

SINGAPORE — For about two hours on Wednesday morning (March 9), thousands of Singaporeans looked to the sky in hopes of catching a glimpse of a rare partial solar eclipse.

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SINGAPORE — For about two hours on Wednesday morning (March 9), thousands of Singaporeans looked to the sky in hopes of catching a glimpse of a rare partial solar eclipse.

 

Viewing sessions were held at the Science Centre Singapore (SCS), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Bishan Park, among others. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also joined in on the fun, visiting the Singapore Botanic Gardens to catch the eclipse.

 

Wednesday’s partial eclipse started at 7.22am and peaked at 8.23am, with nearly 90 per cent of the sun’s surface obscured by the moon. The last time an eclipse of such a magnitude was visible from Singapore was in 1998.

At the viewing sessions at SCS, NUS and Bishan Park, visitors were given special glasses to view the two hour-long event safely. They were also able to peek at the eclipse through telescopes fitted with necessary sun filters. Live webcasts showing the complete eclipse experienced in parts of Indonesia were also shown at NUS and SCS.

 

“It’s quite different seeing it through the glasses and through a telescope,” said Mr Sie Tze Jie, who was among a crowd of 3,000 participants at SCS. “It would have been better if we could have looked through the telescope a bit longer, but I understand that there was a big crowd waiting.”

At Bishan Park, more than 100 people were present at the event organised by hobby group Singapore Sidewalk Astronomy. “We wanted to give the public a chance to look through the telescopes at these astronomical wonders — free of charge, of course,” said Mr Gary Chee, who started the hobby group in 2012. “They think that you need to be very intellectual to appreciate it, but it’s not. It’s just like appreciating a painting. That’s why we wanted to do this.”

The group also handed out 100 solar glasses to the people gathered there.

 

Some members of the public, such as Mr Tony Yeo, happened to be at the McDonald’s nearby buying breakfast. “I saw these people with the telescopes and decided to take a look. I am glad I did. This sort of thing doesn’t happen very often,” he said.

NUS High School of Mathematics and Science also organised a veiwing for all of its staff and students. Year 1 student Low Xi Si said: “All of us are here experiencing the same event, at the same time and in the same space. This has been a truly remarkable and an unforgettable high school experience.”

A lack of equipment did not stop some from viewing the eclipse: Mr Joshua Tan devised a pinhole projector to watch the event from his bedroom. “It was quite thrilling, but I imagine it would have been a lot more spectacular with a telescope!”

Dr Cindy Ng, a senior lecturer at NUS’ Department of Physics, said the next time Singaporeans will get to view a eclipse will be in 2019. That year, the moon will appear smaller than the sun, creating an appearance of a “ring of fire” in the sky. This phenomenon is known as an annular eclipse. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRISTOPHER TOH

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