May 2012 eclipse
When is it happening?
Monday morning between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.
The moon is passing directly between you and the sun, so that it will cover almost all of the sun.
What should you expect?
The maximum eclipse will happen in the Yokohama area from 7:31 to 7:36. The partial eclipse will last from before 6:30 a.m. until just after 9:00 a.m.
Because this is happening early in the morning, there is a good chance that the sun will not be clearly visible. Even if the weather is cloudy we will still see a clear drop in the amount of light around that time.
This animation will give you some idea of what will happen. This iphone app will provide you with lots of information.
How can you observe?
Even at the peak of the eclipse, it is not safe to look at the sun. The light can very quickly lead to permanent damage to your eye.
To view the sun safely you have two main choices:
Get some special glasses designed for viewing the eclipse. These cost a bit less than Y1000 and are available in lots of stores at the moment.
Another option is to make a pinhole projection.
This video was made for observers in North America. This video says that the eclipse will be visible on May 20th at sunset, but here it will be on May 21st in the morning- can you work out why it is different? The video gives great tips for observing the eclipse safely.
Some further information:
http://naojcamp.mtk.nao.ac.jp/phenomena/20120521/index-en.html
Recent from NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/15may_sunday/
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