A TOTAL lunar eclipse occurred in the early morning hours of May 5 that was visible across Asia.

The eclipse could be seen in Myanmar from 1:17 am to 4:47 am Myanmar Standard Time and reached its peak at 2:27 am.

“The shadow started at the upper left of the Moon, and its colour changed to reddish brown,” said U Than Htay, the second chairman of the Myanmar Astro Research Bureau, which was founded in1984.

He said the bureau organised a team to observe the eclipse from North Dagon township with a special telescope and take notes to record the event.

“It was a wonderful scene. Even when the Moon was completely covered by the Earth’s umbra (the region of darkness caused by the Earth blocking the Sun’s light), we could still make out the shadows of the Moon’s mountains,” said U Than Htay.

There was much public interest in the unusual astronomical event in Myanmar, which is rich with ancient beliefs.

U Khin Aung Bo, the chairman of the Astro Research Bureau, said it was too early to make astrological predictions related to the eclipse.

“It takes a couple of days to determine the astrological consequences of the event,” he said.

Astrologers contacted by Myanmar Times also declined to make any predictions.
The last total lunar eclipse visible in Myanmar occurred in 1996. The next one will take place in 2007 according to the bureau.

The next astronomical event of significance will be the Venus Transit on June 8, when the planet Venus will be perfectly aligned between the Earth and the Sun.