The Annular Solar Eclipse



So, the day of the eclipse. We got ready extra fast and made sure the boys left to school earlier then usual. Dropped them off at 6:50am at the plaza (usually drop them off around 7:20am ish). Kouki-kun and little brother Kaito-kun were getting dropped off at the same exact time in the plaza. We waved and the 4 of them ran up the hill to the school. Branden and Noah apparently watched the eclipse together with Branden's friend Yuki-kun and Keita and a handful of other boys (boys from the neighborhood while at school). Also worth to mention, a good bunch had scored free eclipse glasses from the newspaper last week. Yuki-kun included. I told Branden how smart Yuki-kun was. And if I had known which paper that was, we would have done that too. And the rest shared the schools glasses and took turns with those. All grades were outside but siblings gravitated to one another and so they just kept an eye on the kids. The boys really enjoyed seeing the "Ring of Fire" it it's full glory the entire time it was in the sky. They loved it! Said it was absolutely amazing! Also now that they are practicing for undokai and the weather has heated up some, they can now bring their thermos every day now, until undokai, so they can bring their thermos until September to school. 

Our area had lots of big white fluffy clouds that morning but they rolled through quickly. And that made it even better because when the clouds were covering,  I could take a pic.

You can see the corner from the playground tarp on the bottom right hand side of this picture. I tell you it was an amazing thing to get to witness! : ) See the clouds starting to clear at top of this pic?

From about 7:05am to about 7:42am we were outside. Just enjoying. The sun looks crescent shaped in this pic, it was a bit before it completely ringed out in full glory. Our neighbor would shout to us...."isn't it beautiful?" "Yes, it is", we'd happily shout back. We could see it getting more and more aligned. And at one point, when the clouds started to clear to the point where it started to look dangerous for me to chance taking anymore pictures, Noboru suggested I put the camera away and I agreed. I'm sorry but there's just no way I was gonna chance ruining my camera. remember when I was walking a few years back and accidentally dropped it and my original point and shoot broke? @_@ Right before Noah's yochien undokai....good thing I had enough time to order this one from amazon.jp before that undokai all those years ago. Anyway.... yeah....I was afraid I would have killed this camera especially since us in Japan were viewing this in broad daylight, not at sunset. And just too risky for me. Gomen, gomen. But honestly getting to see it first hand with our own eyes and glasses of course ..... it's something we will keep in our memories for a very long time. Hope everyone that is reading this who was in the path, got the chance to enjoy it also. : )

The upcoming Annular Eclipse, "Ring Of Fire" prep

I borrowed this pic of the "Ring Of Fire" from this website. This is what it should look like for us in Kanto May 21st.

Here in Japan, if you have a school aged child, you more then likely have heard about the upcoming eclipse. It's coming May 21st and should be visible around 7:32am-7:34am-ish. It should only last a few minutes.  Here is a link from the Daily Yomiuri about it. What makes this one so special is for people living in Kanto it should be a perfect ring, we will get the best view if you live in Kanto this time around. When will it come back if you miss this time? The year 2030, for us in Kanto we will get an off set ring for 2030, but Hokkaido should get a nice view, but not as perfect as a ring as we will get in Kanto this time around though. And after that, 2041 in Nagoya should have a nice eclipse and then after that the year 2074. Perhaps no one reading this will be alive in the year 2074, who knows. : (  So, yeah getting the chance to see it now, is sort of a big deal. Branden and Noah brought home a note from school, saying. Either keep the kids home during the eclipse and bring them to school a bit later then usual meaning after the eclipse, or bring them earlier then the eclipse. For safety reasons they don't want any kids walking during the eclipse in our town. They also asked, if anyone has their own glasses please bring them since they do have glasses at the school, however they worry they might not have enough for all kids. So, Noboru went and bought Branden and Noah a pair, and since they had a deal, 1600 yen for 4 pair, we each ended up with a pair of eclipse glasses.  Now that the eclipse is getting closer, the price went up to 5,000 yen, Which is ridiculous. : (  Anyway glad he got them a few weeks ago.

Each part of Japan will get to see the annular solar eclipse this time. Some will get a better view of it depending what part of Japan you live. Luck of the draw really, since it changes each time. :) Also important to say, is not just Japan can view this. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Alaska, Southern California and Reno Nevada. New Mexico and Texas. This website had great info on it. It said, if you live in the direct path we'll get a special treat and get to see "The Ring Of Fire" I suddenly feel all "Finding Nemo", saying that. : ) Sorry about that. And, since we live in Kanto, and we will be in the direct path with the best Ring of Fire view, that's why I called this post...prepping for the "Ring of Fire." Let's just hope for all of us, the weather is good that day, no rain would be great. Nice clear skies would be wonderful.

I will not be taking any pics of the eclipse, because all of the news reports say your camera will be damaged if you take a picture of it. I'm not sure if that's true or not. Apparently you need a special lens? But for me, just to be safe then sorry, I won't be taking any pictures from it.  Hope everyone enjoys the upcoming eclipse this coming Monday. : )