Stargazers in Kuching brave wet weekend for glimpse of Perseid meteor shower

KUCHING (Aug 13): Astronomy enthusiasts here braved the rainy nights last weekend, all eager and hopeful to catch the sight of the Perseid meteor shower.

According to the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), this celestial event was anticipated to peak last night and would continue into the early hours of today.

An ‘astrophiles’ group Dark Sky Malaysia carried out a ‘Perseids Meteor Hunting’ gathering at Redbee Camp in Sampadi, Lundu near last weekend, involving 40 members.

Group founder Emma Zulaiha Zulkifli told The Borneo Post that the weather made it hard for them to catch any sight of the meteor shower.

“It rained the whole night,” she said.

The gathering commenced with a briefing, where the campers were informed about the significance of the Perseids meteor shower, some tips for optimal viewing, as well as the essential safety guidelines.

Emma Zulaiha recounted: “Interestingly, the Perseids meteor shower is named after the Constellation of Perseus, as its direction was initially thought to have come from there.

“The visitors were awed by astronomical phenomenon and the knowledge related to it. As the sky was cloudy, we shared with each other the most optimal ways to capture the night sky using only smartphones.

“It was amazing how our smartphones could capture the Milky Way and, if lucky, even meteors! The funny thing was it suddenly rained heavily!”

Nonetheless, Emma Zulaiha and her fellow stargazers were not dampened by the situation.

They moved to the indoors, where they continued their knowledge-sharing session and stargazing right until 11.30pm.

“We said we would alert everyone when the sky had cleared up, but it did not… up until morning. Still, we all had a blast; this kind of thing is normal for stargazers.

“We cannot control the weather, so instead of feeling disappointed at home while waiting for the sky to clear jup, we’d rather be with our fellow stargazers, even under the cloudy skies,” said Emma Zulaiha.

Meanwhile, Borneo International School’s Primary Astronomy Club also set up a sleepover at the school last weekend to watch the Perseids meteor shower.

Just like Dark Sky Malaysia, all 25 club members were determined to brave the rainy nights and have fun during the sleepover, regardless of the outcome.

In a Facebook post, MYSA had described this year’s phenomenon being ‘particularly special’, in that the stargazers would have ideal viewing conditions with the Moon setting at midnight, perfectly timed with the meteor shower’s peak.