Syzygy
On July 22nd there was a total solar eclipse that could be seen in many parts of Asia, including Japan. Although the totality could only be seen way to the south around Kagoshima Prefecture and I couldn't (and didn't want to) go all the way there, even in Kyoto where I live the eclipse would reach 80%. Enough for a good show, I guess.
Being the longest solar eclipse of the century (and we're still in the first decade), it was surely a big event. Obviously lots of scientists and people went to the countries where the totality could be seen. India, China and Japan included. For the Japanese case, of course there was a festival to celebrate the eclipse.
I was also preparing myself to watch the eclipse. Had saved the morning for that. Unfortunately, the weather didn't help. It was cloudy on that day, which spoiled the "getting dark during daytime" effect (people don't get so surprised when it gets dark while the weather is cloudy). Nevertheless, I still managed to get a glimpse of the eclipse.
Perhaps I should say the cloudy weather helped in the sense of allowing myself to take pictures without solar filters. The picture below is from the LIVE! UNIVERSE website feature where one can see the projections for the eclipse in many parts of Japan. It shows how the eclipse was supposed to look at the time I took the picture above.
And of course, there are all the problems related to that kind of event: places getting overcrowded, accidents happening during totality... Nevertheless, the eclipse got me thinking about the meaning it has for humans.
As a (very) unusual phenomenon, there are many superstitions and religious meanings related to an eclipse. Perhaps even more for a solar eclipse. Movies, TV shows and the like also used eclipses in their plots. One example is the TV series Heroes, where a solar eclipse visible all over the globe was used as trigger for the whole story.
One common point in almost all those views is that an eclipse is seen as a sign of change. So I'll try to make it so in my case. I could really use some change in some aspects of my life...
As an extra, a decent eclipse picture from the Japan Times article, taken from Iwoto Island (previously known as Iwojima).
For those wondering about the title, "syzygy" is an astronomical term for the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a plane. It is a better title than "eclipse"... and an excellent word when one is trapped in a word puzzle.
Being the longest solar eclipse of the century (and we're still in the first decade), it was surely a big event. Obviously lots of scientists and people went to the countries where the totality could be seen. India, China and Japan included. For the Japanese case, of course there was a festival to celebrate the eclipse.
I was also preparing myself to watch the eclipse. Had saved the morning for that. Unfortunately, the weather didn't help. It was cloudy on that day, which spoiled the "getting dark during daytime" effect (people don't get so surprised when it gets dark while the weather is cloudy). Nevertheless, I still managed to get a glimpse of the eclipse.
Perhaps I should say the cloudy weather helped in the sense of allowing myself to take pictures without solar filters. The picture below is from the LIVE! UNIVERSE website feature where one can see the projections for the eclipse in many parts of Japan. It shows how the eclipse was supposed to look at the time I took the picture above.
And of course, there are all the problems related to that kind of event: places getting overcrowded, accidents happening during totality... Nevertheless, the eclipse got me thinking about the meaning it has for humans.
As a (very) unusual phenomenon, there are many superstitions and religious meanings related to an eclipse. Perhaps even more for a solar eclipse. Movies, TV shows and the like also used eclipses in their plots. One example is the TV series Heroes, where a solar eclipse visible all over the globe was used as trigger for the whole story.
One common point in almost all those views is that an eclipse is seen as a sign of change. So I'll try to make it so in my case. I could really use some change in some aspects of my life...
As an extra, a decent eclipse picture from the Japan Times article, taken from Iwoto Island (previously known as Iwojima).
For those wondering about the title, "syzygy" is an astronomical term for the alignment of three or more celestial bodies in the same gravitational system along a plane. It is a better title than "eclipse"... and an excellent word when one is trapped in a word puzzle.
1 comment:
Yeah, you really got me curious about the Syzygy! Thanks for the new word!
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