Americans gear up for a solar eclipse
Like people in Mexico and Canada, millions of Americans are preparing to watch an April 8 total eclipse. They’re planning viewing parties or road trips to the best locations. They are buying lots of pairs of funny-looking safety glasses.
Educators and scientists are also committed to making the most of the research opportunity.
What happens during an eclipse?
When the sky turns dark at midday, stars shine and the horizon glows all around, something unusual is happening. During a total solar eclipse, temperatures also can drop by -6 degrees Celsius. Dogs howl. Many other animals search for a place to sleep. But, if you see a 99% partial eclipse, you will see none of that. “It must be 100 percent,” said Gerard Williger, a physics professor at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. While a partial eclipse dims daylight, only when there is a total eclipse do “you get all those great effects.”
Ancient peoples were so impressed by the effects of total eclipses that they recorded their memories in carvings in rock or bone that have been preserved in North America, Europe and East Asia and Pacific regions.
A teaching opportunity
While a partial eclipse will be visible nationwide, the total eclipse will pass over U.S. states including Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Texas. Another total eclipse will not occur over the lower 48 U.S. states until 2044. A total solar eclipse will occur over Alaska in 2033.
At the University of Kentucky, Williger is teaching a semester-long course on the eclipse, one of several offered by U.S. higher-education institutions. Williger’s course covers everything from the astronomy of the moon’s passage in front of the sun to the appearance of eclipses in art, literature and movies. His students range in age from teenagers to octogenarians.
In fact, many colleges will provide glasses for safe viewing or offer lectures on the scientific research on eclipse events.
On April 8, 2024, you can experience a breathtaking celestial event — a total solar #eclipse. Not in the eclipse path? You can experience it with us on https://t.co/EuPGk4Yfo6.
Tune in to our media briefing at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC) on March 26 to learn more:… pic.twitter.com/kKmcyU323z
— NASA (@NASA) March 22, 2024
Citizen scientists
NASA has enlisted everyday Americans to capture what will be rare glimpses of the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, that is visible during the total eclipse. Teams of citizen scientists ready to work with NASA include students at Butler University in Indianapolis and a group of teachers in Texas.
NASA’s Citizen Continental-America Telescope Eclipse 2024 program has provided training and equipment for the groups that will each collect several minutes of footage for an hourlong film to inform scientific research.
“We are going to be setting up cameras — it’s a telescope with cameras attached, and we’re going to be tracking the eclipse as it moves over us,” Jo Lin Gowing, a mechanical engineering professor at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, told CBS news.
“We will have a [movie] of the solar corona right now,” Williger said. “It will help us to understand the sun.”
Research conducted during a 1919 eclipse proved Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which in turn helps scientists operate GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. Eclipses also have helped scientists measure the size of the Earth and understand its rotation over time. Helium — an element used in medical technology, manufacturing and space exploration — was discovered during an 1868 eclipse.
April 8 will be “our chance,” Williger said.