Tag Archives: events

Experiences News

Nature’s fireworks

August 10, 2009 – 18:01

Have to say, Japan has not been having much luck this year in regards to viewing Nature’s events.  First the day of the eclipse was too cloudy to even tell that half of the sun over Tokyo was covered by the moon, and now on the night of the Perseids we have a typhoon hitting Japan!

Oh well, for anyone reading this site and having clear night skies, be sure to look towards the heavens at night for the next couple of days as the Perseids reach their peak.

I will try to see if I can spot any myself, though I can’t stay up late since I’m on early shift at work. 🙁

More Reading:

English Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseids
English Images of Perseids to date: http://www.realclearwx.com/july09.htm
Japanese Information: http://www.nao.ac.jp/phenomena/20090000/3major.html#PER

Tags | Permalink | Comments (2)
Experiences News

Eclipse follow-up

July 24, 2009 – 22:58

A couple of posts back I wrote about the upcoming eclipse.  However, for most of us living in Tokyo, it was pretty much a no-show.  With the clouds and near-constant drizzle obscuring the sky, there sadly wasn’t much to see.  I even got out of the train a few stops before my usual station so that I could take a look at the sky at 09:55, but I couldn’t even tell an eclipse was happening.  All in all, very disappointing. 🙁

However, thanks to the internet, we do have some pretty cool footage already available and here’s one of the best ones I’ve found so far:

Finally, here’s a link to an aggregate of eclipse pictures – some of which are simply amazing.

Tags , | Permalink | Comment (1)
Experiences News

The skies go dark on July 22nd

July 16, 2009 – 15:54

no images were found

On July 22nd, 2009, a solar eclipse will be viewable over the greater part of the Eastern hemisphere (unfortunately, this excludes our American friends and probably most of Australia as well 🙁 ).

In Tokyo, it looks like there will be a partial eclipse taking place from approximately 09:55!  I’m pretty excited about this since I’ve never had the chance to observe any kind of eclipse, and according to Wikipedia, this will be the longest lasting total eclipse this century, going up to 6mins and 39s.

Here is a link to the Japan information page

no images were found

Here is a link to the NASA information (a wealth of information is present there), and I’ve pasted some warnings that people should keep in mind:

It is never safe to look at a partial or
annular eclipse, or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse,
without the proper equipment and techniques. Even when 99%
of the Sun’s surface (the photosphere) is obscured during the
partial phases of a solar eclipse, the remaining crescent Sun
is still intense enough to cause a retinal burn, even though
illumination levels are comparable to twilight

It IS safe to look at the sun once it has been totally obscured (unfortunately, not happening in Tokyo).  As for me, I may try to see if I can find some “aluminized polyester” or (if I can get them small and cheap) #14 welder’s glasses.

To those of you that have the luck to see this incredible event, happy viewing! 🙂

Tags | Permalink | Comment (1)