Annular Solar Eclipse in Tokyo

Posted by: Sana
(May 19, 2012 3:46 PM)

Bam!!!!! First time in 25 years, this can be seen in Japan!
The last time this actually was able to be seen in Tokyo goes back to 173 years ago!!!
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent disk is just smaller than the Sun's disk and the Sun appears as a brilliant ring. It sure will be too beautiful for you to miss.

According to the source, 3 best spots to see the eclipce in Kanto region are...
Atago shrine (Minato Ward)
Minato Mirai (Yokohama)
Asakusa Azuma bridge (Taitou Ward)

Eclipse starts from 06:19am Japan time, and its max will be at 07:34am.

It is a great and presious thing to look at, but also it is fun to look into mythologies and superstitions from all over the world regarding eclipse.

Here are some mythologies;

In ancient Egypt, the clan of the ruling kings, the pharaohs, thought themselves to be direct descendants of the sun and therefore the earthly representative of their sun god. During a solar eclipse, the king walked around their main temple of Osiris till the eclipse was over. The idea being: the sun should keep on moving continuously in the sky without any obstruction. When the sun becomes engaged in a process of eclipse, his human representative, namely the pharaoh must do whatever best he can on his behalf to ensure the regular motion in the sky.

Roma e il suo Colosseo / N U K K

In ancient Rome it was a common practice to scream and shout to drive away demons who cast their shadow on the lunar disc. For a long time the Chinese believed that an eclipse was caused when a dog or some such wild animal bit the sun or the moon. In order to drive away those animals they used to ring bells loudly. And since the solar eclipse was thought to be a bad omen, they used to fast during the eclipse hours to prevent its recurrence.

Shinto maid / malfet_

During solar eclipses, the Shintos in Japan used to have a talisman -- a precious stone studded necklace -- put on the branches of the scared Clauria tree. The brilliance of these stones was thought to compensate for the amount of sunlight lost during the eclipses. At some places bonfires were lit as a substitute for the talisman.

Interesting no? Whether you believe these or not, I hope you enjoy the eclipse tomorrow morning!

Posted by: sana (May 19, 2012 3:55 PM)