Islands Fear Eclipse Onslaught

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]BBC: Japanese island faces eclipse influx
...Just before 1100 local time (0200 GMT) on 22 July 2009 the skies will darken for a total eclipse of the sun. The eclipse will follow a path along a narrow corridor through northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. It should be visible from big cities like Varanasi, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shanghai. The best place to watch it, however, will be a small Japanese islet called Akusekijima, where it is predicted to last six minutes and 25 seconds. There will not be a longer eclipse until 13 June 2132...But the islanders are nervous. Akusekijima has a population of about 70. Its total area is just 7.5 sq km...So far at least 150,000 people have expressed an interest in visiting the islands to watch the eclipse. The islanders fear they will be over-run...In order to try to avoid a disaster caused by crowds of over zealous eclipse watchers, the villagers have handed over control of the event to a Japanese travel agency which plans to hold a lottery for tickets for the right to attend. They hope to start the process formally later this month. The numbers are still being finalised but the package is expected to cost between $3,600 and $2,700...more...

Akusekijima is just one of the Tokara islands and Kinki Nippon Tourist has an English guide to seeing the eclipse from them here. The islands also have an English site here. Blogger Road to the Deep East recently had a post about a summer festival in Akusekijima involving a "penis-shaped stick" which he thought looked more like a "native magical ritual in South Sea island" than an image of Japan.

[alicia454]

As an astronomy nut, I am already trying to make plans to see the total solar eclipse in the Ryukyu Islands, on the cheap of course. I am hoping to fly or take a shinkansen to Kagoshima, and take a ferry to one of the nearby islands within the path of the total eclipse. For the the Ryukyu Islands, the total eclipse will occur approximately between 10:53 and 11:02 AM on Wednesday, the 22nd of July 2009 (JST). I tried a few hotels and they are already sold out.

Here is a useful interactive Google map that shows the path of the eclipse: http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2009_GoogleMapFull.html

I hope that there will be a large number of ships available to the public that will make eclipse sailings in the area.

If anyone else from this forum is also going to see the eclipse, or if anyone else has any useful information or tips, please let me know.

[oyajikun]

Alicia, will those of us on the main island still get a good show?

[Buraku]

I might see it, I'm into this stuff. I've taken photos of the Moon and Mars over the years - some shit, some great. I tried shooting a lunar eclipse once but the photos turned out to be a complete disaster

not sure if I'll be going to Japan for this, the company hours are shit these days and I'm getting poorer every year. If I do take the trip, I could be in China or India. I certainly won't be able to afford a cruiser like some of the snobs out there

If you're going get yourself a good camera, solar filter paper and a little telescope
(Good value for money is the ETX-90 http://www.weasner.com/etx/solar_eclipse.html)
I own one and you'd be surprised what you can view with such a small scope, attach a webcam to the scope and it can really work wonders

PS Never ever look at the sun directly without some kind of solar protection because you can lose your sight and there's nothing which can be done if you fuck your eyes up

PPS For real Advice : talk to a few astronomers, observers, astrophotography freaks because they know their shit a lot better then I do, even better join up with one of those local clubs

Alicia, will those of us on the main island still get a good show?

You'll get an ok show, the little black circle moving across the Earth is the path of the full eclipse
Outside the black circle you have a larger greyish circle telling you the path of the partial eclipse

partial
total

You'll get something close but no cigar

that is if the weather permits

You want a site like this for Japan telling you the average cloud cover etc
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/index.html#clock_list

[alicia454]

Alicia, will those of us on the main island still get a good show?

Sorry, no. Those outside the path of the total solar eclipse in Japan will only see a partial eclipse in which the sky's darkens slightly, but you still have amply daylight. This is not anywhere nearly as good as a total eclipse in which the the sunlight is completely blocked, with a star filled night-time sky, and it is the only time that you can actually see the sun's corona.

PS Never ever look at the sun directly without some kind of solar protection because you can lose your sight and there's nothing which can be done if you fuck your eyes up

No worries, I am always prepared. I brought my trusty number 14 welder's glass to Japan, which I owned for nearly 20 years. With it, I have safely viewed several partial solar eclipses and also viewed many sunspots as well.

I hope that the weather will cooperate that day, and it won't be cloudy!

[dimwit]

No worries, I am always prepared. I brought my trusty number 14 welder's glass to Japan, which I owned for nearly 20 years. With it, I have safely viewed several partial solar eclipses and also viewed many sunspots as well.

One should never leave home without them. Plus they are great for Halloween parties

[alicia454]

One should never leave home without them. Plus they are great for Halloween parties

I doubt that. The #14 welders glass I own are not eye-glasses. It is instead a big rectangular plate of glass that covers both my eyes, and I can also place in front of cameras. The welder's glass plate I have, is specifically designed to be place on welder's full-face mask, just like the one in this picture. (No I don't have the welder's mask itself.)

But even if one has the eye-glasses type, #14 welders glass is much too dark. So dark that the only thing you can see with them is just the sun, which for my #14 glass appears as lime green in colour. Even in bright daylight, everything else but the sun is completely pitch dark, as if you were completely blindfolded. So I doubt that anyone would be able to wear them at a Halloween party.

[Western All Stars]

It looks like it comes only 60 miles south of Shanghai. Sounds like a good excuse to go.

[alicia454]

It looks like it comes only 60 miles south of Shanghai. Sounds like a good excuse to go.

Assuming that you can actually see the sky that day, with all of that smog from the nearby factories. I think that I might have better luck with the weather in the Ryukyu Islands.

Ideally the best place to view it would be in a dry and isolated desert.

[Charles]

Ideally the best place to view it would be in a dry and isolated desert.

Ideally, the best place to view it would be from earth orbit. Book your tickets now through the Russian Federal Space Agency ("Rokosmos"), economy class to the ISS starts at around $12 million.

[Greji]

Ideally the best place to view it would be in a dry and isolated desert.

I suspect a better place to view it would be Paddy Foley's where you could probably be issued special glasses....

[pheyton]

Mind if I indulge. I bet mine is bigger than yours.



That's my 10" dobsonian.

[Charles]

Mind if I indulge. I bet mine is bigger than yours.



That's my 10" dobsonian.

I've never seen anything as large as 10in that was on a pathetic alt-az mount. Even my cheap 6in Newtonian was equatorial. Remember they rate by diameter, not length. That looks more like about 6in, if not 4.

BTW, let me give you a very important warning. My old 6in reflector had a rig for solar observation, I used it a lot. It had an extremely thick neutral density filter fitted over the objective, and a "diameter reducer" (it must have some techie name, but I don't recall) that fit over the opening to reduce the light gathering power, it effectively reduced the diameter by about half.
So one day I'm observing sunspots, I looked away for a minute, and when I looked back, I saw a blinding light. The ND filter got so hot it cracked right in half. If I had been looking through it when it cracked, I probably would have been blinded, if not from retinal burns, from microscopic fragments of glass.
So take my advice, even if your scope is equipped for solar observing, it would be safer to use it to project an image on a white card. Fortunately, even a cheap, small scope is adequate for solar observing with projection. Actually, a small diameter refractor (like a 2in) would be better than a big scope. Even your little spotter scope would be adequate.

[American Oyaji]

blah blah blah

Enough is enough man!

Can you please STOP being a know-it-all. It's not the fact that you hold a lot of facts about a lot of different subjects, it's the fact that you come across as oh so condescending and put downish.
Who cares that it is pathetic. This aint a contest. It's life and everyone has their own paths and their own reasons.
YOU are not the final arbiter of what is and is not good, kosher, proper or art.

........

Dude. Just shut up already.

[Greji]

Dude. Just shut up already.

Hey, that was pretty heavy for you AO. Am I to take it you didn't get laid in Aomori?

[pheyton]

I've never seen anything as large as 10in that was on a pathetic alt-az mount. Even my cheap 6in Newtonian was equatorial. Remember they rate by diameter, not length. That looks more like about 6in, if not 4..

No, it is a 10". http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?ProdID=22
There's a nice 10" mirror in the bottom. Stands at 4' 6" off the ground. No it is not computerized or hooked up to my PC. It's old fashioned, plot the stars/galaxies yourself. I've enjoyed it. I can see the freaking elongated double helix nebula with this bad boy!

Solar eclipses are not my thing. Although neat, I would never use my telescope to look at one. My telescope is for going deep. That's why it's so freakin' big and long.

[Charles]

No, it is a 10". http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?ProdID=22
There's a nice 10" mirror in the bottom. Stands at 4' 6" off the ground. No it is not computerized or hooked up to my PC. It's old fashioned, plot the stars/galaxies yourself. I've enjoyed it. I can see the freaking elongated double helix nebula with this bad boy!

Solar eclipses are not my thing. Although neat, I would never use my telescope to look at one. My telescope is for going deep. That's why it's so freakin' big and long.

I just don't see how you can "go deep" without an equatorial mount, unless you've got one of those elaborate computer controlled motor driven altaz systems. I had enough trouble tracking with a hand driven equatorial system.

[American Oyaji]

Hey, that was pretty heavy for you AO. Am I to take it you didn't get laid in Aomori?

Didn't need to. Didn't want to.

[Greji]

Didn't need to. Didn't want to.

Yeah, is kinda dangerous area for that! At least for you:p

[Mulboyne]

Well, they needn't have worried. The strong yen has helped kill off the interest of overseas eclipse watchers according to this Yomiuri piece (Japanese). Kinki Nippon Tourist offered a tour package limited to 1,500 people at a price of 340,000 yen a head. In the end, only 1,126 have taken it up of whom eleven are foreign travellers. Since Shanghai is also on the eclipse route, where it will last for 5 minutes, it has suddenly occurred to organisers that the major Chinese city might be providing some strong competition. A Californian tour operator abandoned a plan to go to the islands because they weren't reassured that there would be and decent accommodation and facilities. They say that it would have been easier to justify a price for Tokyo or Kyoto but not for a trip to the Tokara islands. A local tourist office produced 20,000 bilingual pamphlets warning about the danger of snakes but it looks like no-one will need them. On shop, expecting foreign visitors, included some English on T-shirts and ordered in some large sizes.

[Ketou]

A local tourist office produced 20,000 bilingual pamphlets warning about the danger of snakes but it looks like no-one will need them. On shop, expecting foreign visitors, included some English on T-shirts and ordered in some large sizes.

lol..would love to see what that pamphlet says.


Many moons ago....came across a snake at Mt Aso while on a day trip organised by the school I went to.
Me to Principal...."is that one poisonous"?
Principal..."no no it is not"
Me.."ok cool" (grabs it by the tail and picks it up)
Principal..."U...U.....UUU...maybe is"
Mate and I had a bit of a laugh, played with it for a bit before letting it go away from the track.

[Mulboyne]

This article (Japanese) says that the islands are now wondering whether they will get a bunch of casual visitors who haven't taken up any of the pricey packages but will find their way to the islands. 7 people turned up at Takarajima but were persuaded to leave by the neighbourhood council. Other who arrived at Nakanoshima sped off into the mountains causing the local fire brigade to go out searching for them. Legally speaking, the islanders have no right to tell anyone to leave but they plan to do so because they think it's unfair to the people who have stumped up for the high-priced packages.

[FG Lurker]

Record-length habu snake found on Amami Oshima Island
The Mainichi Daily News, July 21, 2009

[floatl][/floatl]

AMAMI, Kagoshima -- A venomous snake measuring 2.26 meters long has been found on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, outstripping the previous record for the longest snake to be captured on the island.

The snake, a habu weighing 3.15 kilograms, was captured in the mountains of Amami on the evening of July 16, and taken to Amami Kanko Habu Center, center officials said. Its body has a maximum circumference of about 20 centimeters, and it would be able to swallow a small animal weighing up to about 2 kilograms whole.

(Full Story)

That's a seriously large head on that snake! Don't think I'd want to disturb one while wandering through a field somewhere...

[Midwinter]

This article 7 people turned up at Takarajima but were persuaded to leave by the neighbourhood council.

I hear they can be quite persuasive.

[IkemenTommy]

Muahahahaha. It's forecasted to rain and overcast tomorrow. It's a big FU to the wannabee trendy dickwads that went all the way down there paying the inflated priced plane/boat tickets, who don't really give a shit about the whole eclipse phenomenon part and went there just to be part of the "in-crowd."

[Mike Oxlong]

Okinawa had a real nice view!

[IkemenTommy]

It looks like the people that went to go watch it at the Tokara Islands got rained out(in Japanese), big time.

[Mulboyne]

It looks like the people that went to go watch it at the Tokara Islands got rained out(in Japanese), big time.

A couple more from TV:

[oyajikun]

We got a pretty decent view of the eclipse in Naha. I was unsuccesful at getting any good shots of the eclipse itself, but I did get a few good shots of the halo effect that it produced.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertmallon/3745040385/

[Greji]

We got a pretty decent view of the eclipse in Naha. I was unsuccesful at getting any good shots of the eclipse itself, but I did get a few good shots of the halo effect that it produced.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertmallon/3745040385/

Hey Oyaj,

A couple of good flics just the same....