Full solar eclipse bound for Web

A Webcast by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and other organizations will allow Japan to watch a full solar eclipse darken the daylight skies of Africa and Central Asia on Wednesday evening in Japan.

The event, titled Eclipse Cafe 2006, is the first of its kind organized by the observatory.

Live images of the solar eclipse will be streamed from eight astronomical observatories and science museums across Japan, including Rikubetsu Astronomical Observatory in Hokkaido and Kazuaki Iwasaki Space Art Gallery in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Viewers of two of the eight locations -- Hiroshima and Wakayama prefectures -- will be allowed to teleconference in a question and answer session with astronomical researchers in Turkey.

The Webcast is being offered in conjunction with LIVE! UNIVERSE, a Tokyo-based firm that has streamed images of solar eclipses in the past.

More information about the event is available on the Web at solarwww.mtk.nao.ac.jp/EclipseCafe2006/