January 15, 2010
We held an open day for the public at Geisei Observatory
on the day a partial solar eclipse was visible from Kochi prefecture. Many
of the visitors were school teachers. After the talks, we walked outside
and observed the eclipse already in progress. It was an evening eclipse
and we intently observed the progress of the eclipse with the naked eye
while the sun was setting on the ocean in the west. I imagined that, under
these conditions, a bulb-shaped image of the setting sun (called Dharma-yuhi
in Japanese) might be seen near Cape Ashizuri in the west. Evening solar
eclipses occur rather infrequently and it was for the first time I had
seen one.
I captured the sun through the trees at the observatory with
a standard lens . It was around 4:50 in the afternoon.
The partially eclipsed setting sun
Taken at 16:50 on January 15, 2010
Geisei Observatory