Tokyoites were in for quite a scare early Thursday when a shooting star lit up the sky across the Kanto region before crashing with a very loud bank around 2:32 a.m.
We have to thank famous digital artist Kagaya Yutaka for catching this beautiful video of the meteor flying from west to east, illuminating the clouds with a blue-green light, brighter than the moon itself. Particularly fond of astronomy, his most famous artworks focus on exploring the sky and far away galaxies, so he always records the starry sky from his balcony.
先ほど、、:、ににきな（おそらくるい）がからへれました。にでもこえるが聞こえましたががあるかもしれません。はのスピードでされます。ベランダからのです。
=
“On July 2, 2020, at 2:32, a very large fireball (probably a bright meteor) flew from west to east. A few minutes later, I heard a roar that could be heard indoors, which may be relevant. The video plays at the actual speed. It was taken from my balcony.”
A lot of people reported hearing a loud explosion on social media, wondering if there was thunder or possibly their neighbors. Some residents, spooked by the explosion sound which had their windows shaking, made emergency phone calls to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
One year ago, another meteor flew above Japan early in the morning and hit the Earth in a loud bang that woke up folks in Kagawa Prefecture. The fireball was spotted from Shikoku, Chugoku, and Kansai.
にもじあったんだな。
#
#火球の
#隕石落下
=
“One year ago, a similar event happened.
#Explosion
#Fireballsound
#FallingMeteorite”
This year’s fireball, estimated to be less than one meter in diameter, is believed to have been a fragment of a larger shooting star. But Twitter peeps were quick to bring up theories of their own.
をつけてください‥
サイヤがしたも‥。
おそらく‥オレたちよりいです。
=
“Please be careful,
There’s the possibility it’s an attack from the Saiyans… They’re probably… stronger than us.”
J「おいK、東京で火球の音をが聞いてまでいるらしいぜ？」
K「しろボーヤ。みんなスカイツリーを見ればれてわりだ。このためにスカイツリーはられたんだからな。」
#隕石落下
#MIB
=
“J: Oy K, seems like many people heard the sound of and even witnessed a fireball near Tokyo.
K: Don’t worry kiddo. If everyone watches SkyTree, they’ll forget for good. SkyTree was created for this purpose.”
No shooting star can fly above Japan without people bringing up Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name).
東京に隕石落下ってマジ？？
リアルのはやん
=
“Is it true a meteor fell in Tokyo?
That’s Your Name for real.”
Tanabata Festival
Coincidentally, this astronomical event happened not too far from July 7, which marks the beginning of the Tanabata festivities also known as the Star Festival. The festival is based on the Chinese legend of Princess Orihime and Hikoboshi, two star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way and only able to meet once a year when a magical bridge forms on the 7th day of the 7th month.
Japanese adverbs to express probability and おそらく
While these two Japanese adverbs can overlap in many situations, they do hold some nuance that can make one more appropriate than the other depending on the situation.
多分, which is the most common adverb and can be found in textbooks for beginners, expresses a probability with high chances. This adverb is neutral, meaning the speaker doesn’t convey any particular emotion and is calculating the chances that something may happen or not.
おそらく, however, is slightly more sophisticated and does have an emotional nuance. The speaker who uses おそらく is afraid or suspects that something might or might not happen. To avoid making any mistake on the context, keep in mind that you can translate おそらく as “I fear that…”
Both adverbs are often used with the suffixes でしょう (polite) or だろう (casual) which marks the speaker’s uncertainty or doubt.
Vocabulary
先ほど sakihodo a while ago 東京上空 toukyou jyoukuu above Tokyo 非常に hijyou in extremely 大きい ookii big 火球 kakyuu fireball おそらく osoraku probably 明るい akarui bright 流星 ryuusei shooting star 西から東へ nishi kara higashi made from west to east 数分後 suufungo a few minutes later 聞こえる kikoeru can be heard 轟音 gooon roar 関係がある kankei ga aru be related to (something, an event) かもしれません kamoshiremasen maybe (I think) ベランダから benranda kara from the balcony 撮影する satsuei suru shoot 1年前 ichinenmae a year ago 同じ事ある onaji koto aru same thing happen 爆発音 bakuhatsu on explosion sound 音 oto noise 隕石落下 innsekirakka meteor fall 気をつけてください ki o tsukete kudasai Please be careful 可能性 kanousei possibility おそらく osoraku probably 強い tsuyoi strong 近辺 kinpen neighborhood 大勢 taisei many 目撃者 mokugekishya witness 忘れる wasureru forget このために kono tame ni for that purpose 作られる tsukurareru be made マジ maji really, for real? リアル riaru real 君の名は kimi no na ha Japanese title of the animation movie Your Name 多分 tabun probably
