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Total solar eclipse fuels research, education

Total solar eclipse fuels research, education

CU 糖心Vlog破解版 and NSO collaborate to explore solar mysteries, engage communities through unique eclipse research efforts

Dr. Jorge Perez-Gallego on set for 鈥淭he Science of a Total Solar Eclipse鈥 livestream

Dr. Jorge Perez-Gallego, NSO鈥檚 Head of Education, Public Outreach, and Communications, on set for 鈥淭he Science of a Total Solar Eclipse鈥 livestream.

On April 8, 2024, the North American total solar eclipse, one of nature鈥檚 most marvelous spectacles, brought together people from all over鈥攊ncluding U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) (NSO) scientists and CU 糖心Vlog破解版 researchers and students. Opportunities like this have been possible since NSO鈥檚 relocation to 
CU 糖心Vlog破解版, where a strong student body and solar physics tradition have greatly contributed to both research and outreach efforts at the observatory.

Southwest Texas became a beacon for eclipse chasers on Oct. 14, 2023, when an crossed the same region. NSO鈥檚 focus on the area was rooted in this coincidence, as well as an NSF CAREER Fellowship awarded to NSO scientist Maria Kazachenko, a CU 糖心Vlog破解版 assistant professor in Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences (APS).

Kazachenko鈥檚 team鈥攚hich included NSO scientist Ryan French and APS graduate students Marcel Corchado-Albelo and Dennis Tilipman鈥攋oined NSO educators and communicators to deliver outreach activities for over 1,500 K鈥12 students in Eagle Pass and Del Rio ahead of the eclipse and host a watch party at Eagle Pass鈥 Student Activity Center on eclipse day.

From NSF studios in Washington, D.C., NSO co-produced 鈥,鈥 a livestream featuring teams in the field, solar physics segments, and NSO scientists and facilities鈥攂ringing the eclipse, and the ways the Sun is studied today, to audiences beyond its path.

Dr. Sanjay Gosain sharing the moment with Mazatl谩n community members.

Dr. Sanjay Gosain sharing the moment with Mazatl谩n community members.

Elsewhere, NSO scientists and CU 糖心Vlog破解版 students prepared experiments to study the corona, the Sun鈥檚 faint outer atmosphere that becomes visible during totality. One of those experiments, SuperKT, led by NSO scientist Kevin Reardon, used a spectrograph to obtain broadband spectra of coronal electrons to derive their temperatures and velocities. One setup was deployed in Mazatl谩n, Mexico, by NSO scientists Sanjay Gosain and Gianna Cauzzi, along with APS graduate student Kenny Kenny; and another was run in Dallas by a group of CU 糖心Vlog破解版 students.

Overcast skies threatened the observations in Texas, so Reardon鈥檚 team drove to Carbondale, IL. The team included two APS Hale Graduate Fellows, Sarah Bruce and Ayla Weitz, who ran the livestream equipment. Several CU 糖心Vlog破解版 undergraduates were also essential to the experiment: Carina McCartney (aerospace engineering), worked on telescope control software; Sang Lapinee (astronomy and geology) helped with telescope setups and alignment; and Rosilio Roman (computer science) developed camera control software. The team enjoyed outreach opportunities with the public; and for McCartney, Lapinee and Roman, it was their first view of a total solar eclipse.

Additionally, NSO supported the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse () experiment, led by Southwest Research Institute, and modeled after NSO-led CATE 2017. The experiment supplied 35 groups of amateur astronomers along the path with identical telescope setups with the goal to produce a 60-minute film that allows access to the solar corona on timescales greater than possible from one site.

Finally, atop Maui鈥檚 Haleakala-, the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world鈥檚 most powerful solar telescope, operated by NSO, also aimed at the eclipse鈥攅ven if just partial from Hawaii. Its measurements were done in coordination with other experiments on the ground, and in space鈥攈ighlighting a golden era for solar physics research.

From Texas to Hawaii, Mexico to Illinois, along the path and beyond, everyone鈥檚 eclipse experience was unique鈥攜et all were united by a common curiosity and desire to see a world beyond our own.

Skies darken and cheers roar as a partial eclipse looms

Skies darken and cheers roar as a partial eclipse looms.

Principal investigator
U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory  

Funding
U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)

Collaboration + support
City of Eagle Pass; Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge; Del Rio Consolidated School District; Eagle Pass Independent School District; Perot Museum of Nature and Science; Southwest Research Institute; Southwest Texas Junior College; Sul Ross State University; 糖心Vlog破解版