Stories & Updates

“Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat. What has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star” is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Dec. 21.”

“In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto … Thirteen years later, in 1623, the solar system’s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a ‘Great Conjunction.'”

Read the full article at:
www.nasa.gov/feature/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn

“From our vantage point on Earth the huge gas giants will appear very close together, but they will remain hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. And while the conjunction is happening on the same day as the winter solstice, the timing is merely a coincidence, based on the orbits of the planets and the tilt of the Earth.”

The distance between the two largest planets in our solar system is at their very closest positions 4.3x greater than the distance from our nearest star (the Sun) to Earth (4.3 x ~90 million miles):
socratic.org/questions/how-far-away-is-jupiter-from-saturn

A few tips from NASA on how to photograph the conjunction:
solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1615/how-to-photograph-the-conjunction-of-saturn-and-jupiter/

The Comet Neowise (C/2020 F3), a long-period visitor to the inner solar system is giving viewers in the Northern hemisphere a spectacular show. NEOWISE was discovered by the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) space telescope earlier this year. This icy, dirt and snowball with a gassy tail made its closest approach to the sun on July 3 and is now en route back to the outer solar system. It will be closest to Earth on July 22 but will not return for roughly 6,800 years.

To learn more, visit Scientific American …

As the Ailangs school is not yet in session, and the boarding students not yet returned to campus due to COVID-19, ambassadors Zacharia, Eliona, Pendaeli, OSEO Board member Thomas Mbise, and just a few local students came together at the Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory (maintaining relative safe distance) to observe the Annular Solar Eclipse of June 21, 2020.

While we were challenged by the cloud cover, it opened up a few times to enable us to view the movement of the Moon relative to the face of the Sun a number of times. We were able to post a series of photos to our Facebook event, as also shared here.

During the event we enjoyed watching live feeds from astronomy clubs across Africa, as hosted by the African Astronomical Society (AfAS). And for all the resources compiled (a book and Android app translated into multiple languages, posters, notices, and more) we thank the expert hands and dedicated effort of Niruj of AfAS, Susan and Chu of the Traveling Telescope project, Dr. Jiwaji of the Open University of Tanzania; Sivuyile, Cedric, and Thembela of the South African Astronomical Observatory, and Mponda, Zacharia and the Ambassadors of MMAO, and so many more!

This was exciting for the opportunity to view such a splendid celestial event, and equally exciting to see people from so many countries working together for the celebration of science, education, and astronomy.

The African Astronomical Society is coordinating a pan-African public campaign for the 21 June solar eclipse in collaboration with outreach experts across the continent. It has made several resources available in Kiswahili, Amharic, and English.

All resources are free for download and to be shared widely. MMAO is proud to have played a part in translation, orchestration, and weather permitting—a live broadcast from the observatory in Meru, Arusha, Tanzania.
 

Find here a summary of the resources available to learn about and then safely observe the annular solar eclipse Sunday, June 21. As noted on the website Time and Date, “The annular phase of this solar eclipse is visible from parts of Africa including the Central African Republic, Congo, and Ethiopia; south of Pakistan and northern India; and China. Weather permitting, people in these areas will see the characteristic ring of fire.”

Local Type: Partial Solar Eclipse, in Arusha
Begins: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 6:46 am
Maximum: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 7:46 am 0.62 Magnitude
Ends: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 8:55 am
Duration: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Live Broadcasts
If you live in a part of the world that will not be able to see the eclipse, or if the weather in your region is not cooperating, you can watch the eclipse live

Handbook for Africa: Annular Solar Eclipse 2020
This project was made possible by the Science Stars Magazine in design, Mponda Malozo and Zacharia Mjungu of the Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory and Ingo Koll for multiple language translations, and Dr. Noorali Jiwaji in proofreading. Download the book for free!

Android App in Kiswahili
The Annular solar Eclipse App in Kiswahili is available for free download from the Google Play Store. This app is useful to learn about the eclipse timings and visibility for your location or anywhere else in the world, as well as provide some basic information on eclipses in general and safe ways of viewing it. Download the app from Google Play Store

How to Make your Own Solar Viewer
This DIY video on how to make a solar viewer from Susan and Daniel-Chu with the Traveling Telescope project can be viewed at YouTube.

Podcast about the Annular Solar Eclipse
A podcast about the eclipse by Cosmic Savannah, Alemiye Mamo, Prosperity Simpemba, and Niruj Ramanujam can be viewed now!

AfAS Press Release
The African Astronomical Society has issued a press release. You may read it now:
www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/afas-press-release-on-the-annular-solar-eclipse-2/

To learn, more visit the AfAS Annual Solar Eclipse page hosts the Handbook for Africa, a 7-poster series, an Android app that offers information about the eclipse, and a list of live webcasts from around the world.” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>African Astronomical Society webpage for the Annual Solar Eclipse of June 21, 2020.

Mt. Meru Astronomical Observatory’s Eliatosha Maleko has prepared a brief introduction On Observing the Solar Eclipse in Tanzania. This document is presented in both Kiswahili and in English.

“Kawaida, tukio la kupatwa kwa jua hujitokeza takriban mara mbili kwa mwaka, wakati Mwezi, Jua na Dunia ziko kwenye mstari wa moja kwa moja. Wakati wa kupatwa kwa jua Mwezi hutembea kati ya Dunia na Jua, ikitoa kivuli katika sehemu ya uso wa Dunia.”

“Typically, solar eclipse event occurs about two times in a year, when the Moon, the Sun and the Earth are in a straight line. During the eclipse the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow across a portion of the surface of the Earth.”

Download the PDF for free!

In preparation for the annular solar eclipse event on 21st June 2020, the Mount Meru Astronomical Observatory in Arusha, in collaboration with the African Astronomical Society and Alok Mandavgane for the Astronomical Society of India, have enhanced the Annular Solar Eclipse Android app for use in East Africa.

The App for the first time in history is accessible in Kiswahili to over 150 million native Swahili speakers mainly in the central, eastern and southern African countries. The annular solar eclipse event shall be visible in most of these countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda where Swahili is widely spoken.

The Annular solar Eclipse App is now available for free download from the Google Play in Kiswahili. This app is useful to find out the eclipse timings and visibility for your location or anywhere else in the world, as well as provide some basic information on eclipses in general and safe ways of viewing it.

You can download the app from Google Play Store

On Sunday, June 21, we will (weather permitting) enjoy an annular solar eclipse!

As noted on the website Time and Date, “The annular phase of this solar eclipse is visible from parts of Africa including the Central African Republic, Congo, and Ethiopia; south of Pakistan and northern India; and China. Weather permitting, people in these areas will see the characteristic ring of fire.”

Local Type: Partial Solar Eclipse, in Arusha
Begins: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 6:46 am
Maximum: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 7:46 am 0.62 Magnitude
Ends: Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 8:55 am
Duration: 2 hours, 9 minutes

More information, charts, diagrams, and animations, available at:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2020-june-21

For information specific to the Arusha location:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/tanzania/arusha

For further information, diagrams, and explanations visit the African Astronomical Society’s on-line resources for the June 21, 2020 Annular Solar Eclipse.