One of the most popular topics at present in Japan would be about an annular solar eclipse which was seen on May 21st. While lots of new and fickle astronomy fans had emerged, ophthalmologists warned the public not to look at the sun with the unaided eye. Teachers of compulsory education urged their pupils to use eclipse glasses when observing the annular eclipse. Sunglasses were of no use for the protection of eyes in this case. Also on June 6th, we could see a wonderful planet show, Venus passing in front of the sun in the daytime. A significant number of children would fantasize their space trip.
By the way, I read some bad news from a medical journal. A group of researchers who work on the influence of weightlessness on the human body announced that a long stay in space might cause retinal problems and they might confine human activity in space to a far smaller extent than we expected. The atrophy of muscles is well known as one of the side effects of a long stay in space, but this is avoidable by frequent muscle training. However, I think the degeneration of retina would be inevitable. I gazed at these astronomical spectacles, thinking about such unfavorable circumstances.
(Vocabulary)
eclipse [C] 食, 日食, 月食
an eclipse of the sun/moon 日食［月食］
a total/partial eclipse 皆既食/部分食
annular (solar) eclipse 金環日食
new and fickle astronomy fan にわか天文ファン
fickle 〈人が〉 気まぐれな, 移り気な, 飽きっぽい
unaided 助けを借りない
with the unaided eye 肉眼で
astronomical spectacle 天文ショー
unfavorable circumstances 望ましくない状況
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