{"id":781207,"date":"2024-04-22T16:44:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T21:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781207"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:44:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T21:44:55","slug":"eclipse-projects-shed-new-light-on-solar-corona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=781207","title":{"rendered":"Eclipse projects shed new light on solar corona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/swri-led-eclipse-proje-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/swri-led-eclipse-proje-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"This high-res processed image of the April 8 eclipse shows the Sun's corona, its outermost atmosphere, in artificial colors that indicate the polarization or orientation of the light. Citizen scientists in Dallas collected these data through the SwRI-led Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 experiment. Credit: Southwest Research Institute\/Citizen CATE 2024\/Ritesh Patel\/Dan Seaton\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                This high-res processed image of the April 8 eclipse shows the Sun&#8217;s corona, its outermost atmosphere, in artificial colors that indicate the polarization or orientation of the light. Citizen scientists in Dallas collected these data through the SwRI-led Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 experiment. Credit: Southwest Research Institute\/Citizen CATE 2024\/Ritesh Patel\/Dan Seaton<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Teams led by Southwest Research Institute successfully executed two experiments\u2014by land and air\u2014collecting unique solar data from the total eclipse that cast a shadow from Texas to Maine on April 8, 2024. The Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 experiment engaged more than 200 community participants in a broad, approachable, and inclusive attempt to make a continuous 60-minute high-resolution movie of this exciting event.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\">\n         <!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>A nearly simultaneous investigation used unique equipment installed in NASA&#8217;s WB-57F research aircraft to chase the eclipse shadow, making observations only accessible from a bird&#8217;s eye view.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Total solar eclipses are relatively rare, offering unique opportunities for scientists to study the hot atmosphere above the sun&#8217;s visible surface,&#8221; said Dr. Amir Caspi, principal investigator of both projects. &#8220;But more than that, through CATE 2024, the eclipse offered a bonding experience between scientists and communities along the path, sharing in this incredible, awe-inspiring event. We hope the public experienced a new interest in and appreciation of the sun and its mysteries.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Total solar eclipses allow scientists to view the complex and dynamic features of the sun&#8217;s outer atmosphere in ways that aren&#8217;t possible or practical by any other means, opening new windows into our understanding of the solar corona. The faint light from the corona is usually overpowered by the intense brightness of the sun itself, and some wavelengths of light are blocked by Earth&#8217;s atmosphere.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"mb-4\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\">\n    <meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Eclipse projects shed new light on solar corona\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch\/?v=ca_GzURad1I\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Credit: Southwest Research Institute\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2024-04-22T10:36:59-04:00\"\/><br \/>\n        <meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ca_GzURad1I\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ca_GzURad1I\/maxresdefault.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SwRI leads two eclipse experiments for April 8, 2024\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ca_GzURad1I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n         <\/p><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up mt-4\" itemprop=\"caption\">Credit: Southwest Research Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>CATE 2024 deployed a network of 35 teams of community participants, or &#8220;citizen scientists,&#8221; representing local communities along the eclipse path, deploying a &#8220;bucket brigade&#8221; of small telescopes following the eclipse&#8217;s cross-country path. CATE 2024&#8217;s scientific objectives required measuring the polarization of light, or the orientation of oscillating light waves, in the corona.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You are familiar with this because sometimes you wear a polarizing filter right on your face\u2014sunglasses that filter out certain angles of polarized light,&#8221; Caspi said. &#8220;The Citizen CATE 2024 telescopes have a polarizing filter baked onto every pixel of the sensor, allowing us to measure four different angles of polarization everywhere in the corona, providing a lot more information than just measuring the brightness of the light.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Caspi also led an airborne project to observe the corona during the eclipse from 50,000 feet. These high-altitude observations both provide measurements that can&#8217;t be made from the ground and avoid any weather-related risks. Caspi&#8217;s team deployed a new suite of sensitive, high-speed, visible-light and infrared imagers, built by the SCIFLI team at NASA&#8217;s Langley Research Center, installed in the nose cone of a WB-57 jet.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at complex motion in the solar corona at new wavelengths and with new polarization measurements will help scientists understand why it is so hot. The corona is millions of degrees Celsius, hundreds of times hotter than the visible surface below, a curious paradox that is a longstanding scientific mystery.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/swri-led-eclipse-proje-2.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2024\/swri-led-eclipse-proje-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"These preliminary images from a new suite of sensitive, high-speed, visible-light and infrared imagers aboard one of NASA's WB-57 jets show the corona and prominences visible during the April 8, 2024, eclipse in four wavelength ranges. Moving forward, SwRI scientists will significantly improve the images through processing and analysis of the rich and complex data. Credit: Southwest Research Institute\/NASA\/Dan Seaton\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/swri-led-eclipse-proje-2.jpg\" alt=\"SwRI-led eclipse projects shed new light on solar corona\" title=\"These preliminary images from a new suite of sensitive, high-speed, visible-light and infrared imagers aboard one of NASA's WB-57 jets show the corona and prominences visible during the April 8, 2024, eclipse in four wavelength ranges. Moving forward, SwRI scientists will significantly improve the images through processing and analysis of the rich and complex data. Credit: Southwest Research Institute\/NASA\/Dan Seaton\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                These preliminary images from a new suite of sensitive, high-speed, visible-light and infrared imagers aboard one of NASA&#8217;s WB-57 jets show the corona and prominences visible during the April 8, 2024, eclipse in four wavelength ranges. Moving forward, SwRI scientists will significantly improve the images through processing and analysis of the rich and complex data. Credit: Southwest Research Institute\/NASA\/Dan Seaton<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The corona is also one of the major sources of eruptions that cause geomagnetic storms around Earth. These phenomena damage satellites, cause power grid blackouts, and disrupt communication and GPS signals, so it&#8217;s important to understand them better as the world becomes increasingly dependent on such systems.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Combining the airborne mobile data with the CATE 2024 hour-long string of observations will provide a more complete picture of the sun&#8217;s mysterious corona,&#8221; said SwRI co-investigator Dr. Dan Seaton, who serves as the science lead for both projects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Both experiments required an enormous effort and precise timing to get the data we need,&#8221; Caspi said. &#8220;I am honored and in awe of the exceptionally talented teams that worked so diligently together. I can hardly wait to dig into the data we collected.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium mt-4\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSouthwest Research Institute<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEclipse projects shed new light on solar corona (2024, April 22)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 22 April 2024<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-04-eclipse-solar-corona.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This high-res processed image of the April 8 eclipse shows the Sun&#8217;s corona, its outermost atmosphere, in artificial colors that indicate the polarization or orientation of the light. Citizen scientists&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":781208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-781207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-phys-org"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=781207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/781208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=781207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=781207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=781207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}