Eclipse

Eclipse
Isaac Mendez painted the eclipse before it happened.
First mentioned:	Genesis
Date of event:	October 1, 2006

On October 1st, a solar eclipse occurs and is observed by several strangers around the world. A similar eclipse occurs in 1671.

About

Genesis

Peter Petrelli notices out of the back window of Mohinder Suresh's cab that an eclipse is beginning. Mohinder says that it will not be seen in full in New York. He says it is a global event, and it makes people realize how small the world is. They have a conversation about evolution and being special. In Japan, Hiro Nakamura is awed by the eclipse, while his exercising coworkers at Yamagato Industries (including Ando Masahashi) appear oblivious to the event. In Odessa, TX, Claire Bennet and her friend Zach stare at the sky, having just left a massive train wreck. In Las Vegas, Niki Sanders finds her son's pinhole viewer. She peeks at the sky just before noticing intruders.

Nothing to Hide

As Peter reads a newspaper (the New York Telegraph) at Charles Deveaux's apartment, the back page reports "Skies Clear For Solar Eclipse".

Six Months Ago

When Heidi's surgeon tells Nathan of his wife's condition, a reflection of a light causes an eclipse-like reflection on a glass pane.

How to Stop an Exploding Man

Hiro time travels to 1671 Japan and sees several samurai preparing to battle Takezo Kensei. As the sky goes dark from a solar eclipse, the men stop in their tracks and look up in awe.

Four Months Later...

In 1671 outside Otsu, Japan, Hiro, Whitebeard, and Kensei watch a complete solar eclipse. During the eclipse, Whitebeard's men fire their arrows toward Hiro, who stops time in the darkness of the eclipse and escapes danger.

Notes

• Hiro notes the eclipses beauty in a blog entry.
• In an interview, when asked about the solar eclipse in Genesis, Tim Kring says "In the pilot, the eclipse was really meant mainly to be a single global event that could connect all these characters visually and in time. But that's not to say that we won't discover that it maybe had some other effects, as well. We will, but it will not be explained for a while."
• In an interview (called "Behind the Eclipse", coincidentally), Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite were asked about the eclipse-like lighting above Nathan's head in the hospital after Heidi's accident. In response, the producers/writers said, "There [are] no coincidences in lighting." (Six Months Ago)
• Total solar eclipses are typically visible in a swath about 100 miles wide and several thousand miles long, with a partial eclipse visible over a much larger range. However, they are not global events, affecting only about 1/3 of the Earth's surface. In the real world, no total eclipse will touch the continental USA until 2017, with another appearing in 2024. There has not been one near the east coast since 1970. No eclipse was/will be total in Las Vegas in the 20th or 21st centuries. The 2024 eclipse passes over Dallas and Buffalo, NY but is not total in Odessa, TX.
• There were no total eclipses of the sun visible in 1671, and no total eclipse came near Kyoto in the entire 17th century. A partial eclipse was visible in Japan in Sept 1671. In a real total solar eclipse, the edge of the shadow of the moon is not nearly as sharp as dramatized, and it moves at over 1,000 miles per hour over the surface of the Earth.
• In Chapter 4, Part 2: Kensei and the Dragon of Sword Saint, the Dragon of Kiso Mountain is said to have blotted out the sun across all of Japan.

Trivia

• Tim Sale first created the painting of the eclipse in black and white; Dave Stewart then colored the background dark blue.

Gallery

• 
  Peter's eye appears as an eclipse.
  (Genesis)
• 
  Peter Petrelli watches the eclipse from the back seat of Mohinder Suresh's taxi cab in New York, NY.
  (Genesis)
• 
  Claire Bennet and Zach look at the eclipse while walking home from the train wreck in Odessa, TX.
  (Genesis)
• 
  Niki Sanders observes the eclipse through her son Micah's pinhole camera in Las Vegas, NV...
• 
  ...and it reflects off her eye.
  (Genesis)
• 
  The back page of the New York Telegraph has weather information about the eclipse.
  (Genesis)
• 
  A reflection of a light causes an eclipse-like reflection on a glass pane.
  (Six Months Ago)
• 
  The eclipse is part of the show's logo.
• 
  The eclipse is featured in ads for the Nissan Versa in the graphic novels.
• 
  The title page of the first three comics also features a large eclipse.
  (Monsters)
• 
  An eclipse frames Mr. Bennet's head on the last page of The Death of Hana Gitelman, Part 2.
• 
  Hiro time travels to ancient Japan and witnesses a solar eclipse.
  (How to Stop an Exploding Man)
• 
  Tim Sale depicts an eclipse in the Heroes pilot script.
• 
  Sword Saint's final image is that of an eclipse.
• 
  In Out of Time, the eclipse is green instead of orange to suit NBC's "Green Week".

Memorable Quotes

"Wow."

"Solar eclipse."

"Yeah. Yeah, I wonder if it's gonna be total."

"Not here, no. In some other part of the world, yes. A global event. Makes one appreciate just how small our planet really is. And we're all quite small really, aren't we?"

- Peter, Mohinder (Genesis)

"It's a pinhole camera. It's for the eclipse. The moon's gonna cover up the sun today. We're supposed to look at it at school."

- Micah (to Niki) (Genesis)

"With a loud thunderclap, the Dragon of Kiso Mountain suddenly appeared above the wedding. He was huge and terrible. It was said to have blotted out the sun across all of Japan."

- Narrator (Sword Saint)

External Links

• Eclipse — Wikipedia
• Solar eclipse — Wikipedia
• Eclipse Home Page — NASA

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Eclipse for fan-created theories and other speculation.