Three months after I left Japan, I’m still wading through a backlog of photos to post and stories to tell in this space, and it’s not going to get any easier: on December 29 I’m heading to Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyushu to observe trans-Neptunian/Kuiper Belt object (20000) Varuna pass in front of a distant star. About 1000 km across and taking 283 years to orbit the sun, Varuna is believed to be reddish, icy, and elongated; watching it occult this star will help better constrain its size and shape.

I’m hoping for clear skies and good data, as well as a chance to explore Sakurajima, a local active volcano near Kagoshima-ken. Any other suggestions of places to visit or things to see near Kagoshima-ken, Sendai-shi (not the Sendai devastated by the earthquake in March)?

With that, I’ll leave you with a photo of another active volcano in Japan, this one seen in the dark past a lake, boats, and pink cosmos.