Received the IYA2009 Commemorative Coin of Ukraine

I'm writing this post to update about the Ukrainian IYA2009 coin that I received yesterday. In fact this is the first IYA2009 commemorative coin that came under my possession although it's already been more than 7 months since the closing ceremony of IYA2009.

Here is the coin and some of the details about it.

Denomination: 5 hryvnia (currency of Ukraine)
Metal: Copper-Nickel
Weight: 16.54 g
Diameter : 35 mm
Quality: special uncirculated
Edge: grooved
Mintage: 45 000
Designers: Volodymyr Taran, Oleksandr Kharuk, Sergei Kharuk.
Authors of models: Anatoly Demyanenko, Sviatoslav Ivanenko

I ordered the coin through Ebay, which is of course the best shopping center out there online and it took around 2 weeks for the arrival of the coin via snail-mail.Still you can order the coin and it costs less than 12 USD in total including shipping as well, Although I have searched for the other commemorative coins of other countries, Ebay didn't seem to have them on sale; of course they can be bought online at different numismatic stores but at very expensive rates.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog you must have noticed that Australia, Austria, Canada, Malaysia, Cook Islands, Greece..etc have issued official commemorative coins in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009.

Additionally you can find a complete archive about all the official commemorative coins of IYA2009 though the IYA2009 Coin Blog that I've published.

However I have not given up my numismatic thirst and am always on lookout for the rest of the coins to be collected.

http://astroblogger.new.newsvine.com/_news/2010/04/04/4115392-iya2009-commemorative-coins-from-around-the-world

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Eclipse 11th July 2010 : Photos + Videos + Experience

The only total solar eclipse of the year 2010 took place few hours ago over the South Pacific Ocean and some Latin American countries. Many astronomers + eclipse-chasers, who had already made it to the possible eclipse sites were lucky enough to witness the total solar eclipse with fairly good weather condition. Traversing over the South Pacific the silhouette of the moon crossed over Polynesian Islands, Easter Island, Cook Island and ended its path from Southern Argentina after going through Chilean territories.

Moreover it was more interesting to see Easter Island / Isla de Pasqua being crowded with a lot of people interested in astronomy & astrophotography in general. It's also noteworthy that the same island is subject to Archaeoastronomy | ethnoastronomy as well.

It was glad to see some of these astronomy groups live streaming the webcast of total solar eclipse with instantaneous tweets as well. In my opinion that was very helpful for the rest of the enthusiasts, who have not been unable to make their way to South Pacific/ Chile.

Here are some of the videos that have been recorded featuring different phases of the entire eclipse. These include the phenomena such as totality of the total solar eclipse, the solar corona, and the spectacular diamond ring effect, that are not to be missed in an eclipse like this.




Credit : WOLFC2008 [You can check out his youtube channel and there're more videos uploaded featuring the Total Eclipse]

The following is a footage courtesy of AFP featuring Pre-eclipse preparations at eclipse site located in Easter Island among those ancient cultural icons/ artifacts.




This is an another video produced by Reuters [Thanks Universe Cafe for sharing this :)] catching some best moments during the total solar eclipse. This is also from Easter Island by http://www.youtube.com/user/mkentrianakis





I was tuned in with the live webcast brought out by Wakayama University from Hao Islands (French Polynesia) while the tweets of Ichikawa Yuichi from the same group kept many of the viewers updated.


Credit : Wakayama University 


Here are some of the great photos featuring the total solar eclipse.

Credit: Donald Gardner [Atoll de Hao, French Polynesia, South Pacific]


Credit :Alejandro Tombolini [Trenel, La Pampa, Argentina]

It was evident from the Google trends that people were after the total eclipse and Fifa WC Finals during last few hours. For example the EclipseBlog I manage in both Spanish and English received more than 20,000 visitors during last 24-hours.

In case you happened to miss the eclipse, still you can watch the recordings. They can be accessed here. These are courtesy of  Wakayama University Group.

1.http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8217930 #1 from Hao, French Polynesia

2.http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8218390 #2 from Hao, French Polynesia

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Watch Total Solar Eclipse 11th July 2010 Live Streaming from EclipseBlog

The most awaited total solar eclipse of the year 2010 is about to take place in less than next 20 hours from now. There have been a lot of groups/ individuals flocked at South Pacific islands and Chilean territories right now waiting for the eclipse to take place.

The EclipseBlog will be featuring live feeds from different sources as an attempt to bring the eclipse live to many those whoa re unable to make it to the exact locations. During last Annular solar eclipse, back on 15th January EclipseBlog together with SkyLK brought out a live streaming of the eclipse from Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Here is the webpage where you can watch the eclipse online. http://2010eclipse.blogspot.com/p/solar-eclipse-live.html

Let's hope the weather will be fine and everything would be ideal for the total solar eclipse.

Here are some basic facts about this total solar eclipse.

As the second solar eclipse of the year 2010, there will be a total solar eclipse on 11th of July 2010. This will also be the only total solar eclipse visible for this year. In this eclipse the totality will last for maximum 5 minutes and 20 seconds, exactly at the point (Co-ordinates : 19.7S & 121.9W) which is marked in below map. The totality will start at 18:15:15 GMT (UT) and will end at 20:51:42 GMT (UT) as the shadow leaves the Earth.

Path of Total Solar Eclipse :

The path of the eclipse, whose maximal width would be some 259 km, falls over the southern hemisphere of the planet, mostly traversing through the Pacific Ocean. In fact the Moon's umbral shadow will cast through the South Pacific Ocean while Cook Islands (especially Mangaia, the oldest island in the Pacific) & famous Easter Island (Isla de Pascua in Spanish)will be the only landmasses to be encountered in the South Pacific Ocean. Then the moon's shadow of the total solar eclipse will take the route across southern Chile and Argentina, as the totality will come to an end from there onwards. 

Path of Partial Solar Eclipse :

In addition to the totality, which is restricted only for a small populated territory, a partial solar eclipse, caused by the Moon's penumbral shadow will be visible to a wider region, which includes South Pacific and South America. The counties where the eclipse would be visible as a partial solar eclipse include Argentina, Chile, Peru & Bolivia. If you're inside a vessel in South Pacific you will likely at least see the partial solar eclipse.

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Eclipse solar total el 11 de julio de 2010

Información sobre el eclipse:

Como el segundo eclipse del 2010, habrá un eclipse solar total el 11 de julio de 2010. Este será el único eclipse solar total que se verá este año. Este eclipse durará en total 5 minutos y 20 segundos como máximo, exactamente en el punto señalado en el mapa inferior. (Coordinadas: 19.7S y 121.9O). El eclipse total comenzará a las 18:15:15 GMT (TU) y terminará a las 20:51:42 GMT (TU) a medida que la sombra se aleje de la Tierra.

La ruta del eclipse solar total:

La ruta del eclipse, cuyo ancho máximo sería de alrededor de 259km, cae sobre el hemisferio sur del planeta, atravesando principalmente el Océano Pacífico. De hecho, el umbral de la sombra de la Luna se proyectará a través del Océano Pacífico Sur mientras las Islas Cook (especialmente Mangaia, la isla más antigua del Pacífico), y la famosa Isla de Pascua serán las únicas masas terrestres que se encuentren en el Océano Pacífico Sur. Entonces la sombra de la luna del eclipse solar total seguirá la ruta a través del sur de Chile y Argentina a medida que el eclipse total terminará de aquí en adelante.

La ruta del eclipse solar parcial:

Además del eclipse total que está restringido a una pequeña parte de territorio habitado, un eclipse solar parcial causado por la sombra penumbral de la Luna será visible en una región más amplia, que incluye el Pacífico Sur y América del Sur. Los países en los que el eclipse sería visible como un eclipse solar parcial incluyen Argentina, Chile, Perú y Bolivia. Si usted está en un barco en el Pacífico Sur seguramente podrá ver al menos el eclipse solar parcial.

 Source : http://2010eclipse.blogspot.com/2010/02/eclipse-solar-total-el-11-de-julio-de.html

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