Unfavorable Weather Doesn’t Stop Public From Witnessing the “Blood Moon” Marvel—Over 500 Gather at National Planetarium

(Kuala Lumpur, 8th) Despite the unfavorable weather, more than 500 people flocked to the National Planetarium on Sunday to witness the global spectacle of the “Blood Moon” total lunar eclipse together!
According to Bernama, although the weather last night (7th) was not ideal, it didn’t dampen public enthusiasm, as people were eager to witness this rare natural phenomenon firsthand.
Besides the public, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s Deputy Secretary General (Fostering Science and Planning), Roziah, also attended the moonwatching event organized by the Planetarium.
It’s reported that visitors started arriving at the National Planetarium at 9 p.m., and around 11:30 p.m., they viewed the “penumbral lunar eclipse” using telescopes.

The so-called penumbral lunar eclipse refers to when, during a full moon, part of the moon is blocked by the Earth and its brightness dims. Because this phenomenon is hard to spot with the naked eye, telescopes and observation toward the east are required to witness this natural event.
38-year-old spectator Norazura said this was her first time bringing her children to observe an astronomical phenomenon with a telescope, making it a rare experience.
“My second son really loves astronomy. He was very excited after learning about this event. Although we couldn’t see the full blood moon, at least they saw the penumbral eclipse through the telescope, which is a very meaningful experience.”
As for 27-year-old Farisya, she specifically traveled from Klang’s Jalan Tengah just to witness this major event.
“I learned about this event from the National Planetarium’s official social media, and at 9 p.m. my friends and I rushed here from Jalan Tengah in Klang. Even though it wasn’t exactly as we hoped, being able to feel this excitement among the public brought me closer to the mysteries of the universe.”

The National Planetarium prepared five telescopes for public use on site, including one used for social media live streaming so those unable to be present could view the event online.
Planetarium director Mohd Zamri explained that the moon’s color change occurs because Earth blocks direct sunlight from reaching the moon’s surface, but part of the light still passes through the atmosphere, rendering a reddish-orange hue.
He added that this lunar eclipse started its penumbral phase at 11:28 p.m. on Sunday night, peaked around 2 a.m., and ended at 4:55 in the morning.
This penumbral eclipse occurred during the full moon, as Earth blocked part of the sunlight, causing the moonlight to appear dimmer.
However, penumbral eclipses cannot be directly observed with the naked eye; telescopes and other equipment are necessary, and one must look east—toward where the moon rises—to clearly catch this phenomenon.

As a global event, about 7.03 billion people worldwide (about 88% of the world’s population) could view part of the total eclipse, and over 6.27 billion people (around 77% of the world’s population) could see the complete total eclipse.
The astronomical community considers this “Blood Moon” as a prelude to the August 12, 2026, super total solar eclipse, one of the grandest astronomical events in the years to come.