Watch the solar eclipse live from the top of Fuji / the US

ORIGINAL: CNN Observatorio en el Monte Fuji Japón / US

Panasonic to use solar power alone to live stream total eclipse from volcano's snowy peak16 May, 2012

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Whoah, dude -- not only is this the eclipse part of the Solar Saros 128 series of events, but we also get to wear these awesome specs.

On an apartment-building roof, in a local park, maybe even up a ladder -- given clear skies the choices are endless. If you’re in Japan on May 21, chances are you have at least a half-laid plan for watching the total solar eclipse that morning.

Still, we bet they’re not half as ambitious as those of electronics maker Panasonic, which is dispatching a team to the top of Mount Fuji to stream the whole celestial event live online.

Better yet, the Panny team will be using only solar-powered equipment to film and broadcast the eclipse. Kinda like a snake eating its own tail, we guess.

And, in case you’re wondering what happens when the moon blots out the sun, said equipment, naturally, includes solar batteries for offline backup.

The annular eclipse -- it’s still total, but the moon leaves a ring-shaped sliver of the sun still showing at totality -- will begin at 6:19 a.m. in Tokyo and will be visible from much of Japan, southern China, western Canada and the United States (on the evening of May 20 in North America).

Perfect location

Mount Fuji: just add Rising Sun gag here 

Fortunately for Panasonic, Mount Fuji is almost bang on the path, offering prime viewing conditions during the five minutes of totality.

Better yet, the peak is almost always about cloud level.

And if you’re pondering joining the 3,780-meter trek to the top of Japan’s highest mountain, don't bother.

Official climbing season is still months away and the peak -- we can see it from the office, so you know it’s true -- is still wreathed in snow and ice.

Let's hope the Panasonic team remembers to pack some of these.

Resources

If you need help planning your eclipse viewing, there’s an interactive Google Map showing its path across Japan here, an official National Astronomical Observatory of Japan guide to the event here and a rough-and-ready everyman’s guide here.

Foto: Observatorio Monte Fuji Japón 

En su punto máximo, la Luna obscurecerá el 94% del Sol, produciendo un espectacular anillo de fuego. Este místico anillo sólo podrá avistarse en el suroeste de Estados Unidos, en el sureste de China, Taiwan y en el sureste de Japón. En el lado asiático del Pacífico el eclipse iniciará poco después del amanecer del 21 de mayo y en el lado americano del Pacífico será en la tarde, iniciando a las 17:00 tiempo del Pacífico. Este será el último eclipse anular de “anillo de fuego” en Norteamérica en 18 años.

En el siguiente GIF se pueden dar una idea de la zona que atravesará el eclipse: la línea punteada roja mostrando la zona del anillo de fuego y la sombra gris el curso del eclipse parcial; la hora dada en la imagen es tiempo universal. En este link pueden consultar más información relacionada al lugar y a la visibilidad del eclipse. Puedes también visitar Pijama Surf el domingo y seguramente estaremos transmitiendo en vivo el eclipse para aquellos que no podrán observarlo localmente.

Foto: NASA