Partial Solar Eclipse; Jakartans' Enthusiasm Evident at TIM Observatory

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The hybrid solar eclipse is observable across a number of Indonesian regions today, on April 20th. The Capital City of Jakarta itself will be able to see 39 percent of the partial eclipse, which explains the enthusiasm from amateur astronomers and the general public gathered at the Jakarta Observatory and Planetary in Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM).

Despite heavy clouds covering most of the moments during the eclipse, people have gathered here since 06:30 in the morning. Online registrants for the eclipse observation event reached 2,300 people for the 5th batch.

Ananda Reza Kurniawan, Chairman of the Jakarta Amateur Astronomy Association (HAAJ), a club under the auspices of the Jakarta Planetarium, remains optimistic about Jakarta's weather. 

"Today, the weather forecast is cloudy, but we must always be optimistic that it will be sunny and always be ready to serve the community," he said in remaining optimistic. 

This facility has up to 13 telescopes for general visitors and two telescopes for astrophotography. This observation also uses the Coude observatory.

Those residing in the capital city are able to observe the partial eclipse starting from 09:29 WIB (Western Indonesia Time) and the peak partial solar eclipse at 10:45 WIB. The astronomical event ends at 12:06 WIB, completing a full 2-hours and 37-minute procession. 

MARIA FRANSISCA LAHUR

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