On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible across parts of North America, from the Pacific coast of Mexico to the easternmost points of Canada. All kinds of interesting things are known to happen in the few minutes of daylight – and NASA wants our help to measure the events.
During a total solar eclipse, temperatures may drop and winds may slow or change direction. Animals have been observed behaving strangely – you can hear crickets starting their evening chatter several hours early. Even radio communication can be disrupted due to changes in the ionosphere during solar blackouts. The Sun’s corona – its outermost atmosphere – will be visible, giving scientists (and those who help them) a rare opportunity to study this layer that is normally invisible to the naked eye.
NASA is planning a lot of research on the eclipse and has sponsored several citizen science campaigns that anyone can participate in. areas that people on the ground can see the sun is completely covered by the moon. The path of totality crosses 13 US states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This is an event of some importance; the next time a total solar eclipse crosses much of the contiguous United States won’t be until 2045.
All you need to join is take a few minutes before you get caught up to go through the equipment and training materials you already have, like a smartphone.
Help measure the shape of the sun
Such is a citizen science project , a collaborative effort to measure the true shape of the sun. Although the Sun is closer to being a perfect sphere than any other observed celestial body, it is still technically a flat spheroid with a wider spheroid along its equator. The SunSketcher team plans to get a more accurate measurement with crowd observations of Baily’s Beads, or small specks of sunlight, visible from behind the Moon at specific points in the eclipse.
The Baily’s Bead effect is “the last piece of the sun visible before totality and the first visible after totality,” NASA said. . “For a few seconds, these flashes of light appear as beads on the edge of the moon.” They are visible due to uneven topographical features on the Moon’s surface.
You need to download the free SunSketcher app available on iOS and Android and . Then, a few minutes before the general (exact time depends on the location), put your phone in Do Not Disturb mode, press the “Start” button in the app, and place the phone in a place with a good view of the sun. After that, leave it until the eclipse is over – the app will automatically take pictures of Baily’s Beads when they appear.
That is on the SunSketcher website if you want to familiarize yourself with the process beforehand. After all this is done, the images will be uploaded to SunSketcher’s server. They will eventually be combined with observations from all sides to “create an evolving bead pattern” that can shed better light on the sun’s size and shape.
SunSketcher images probably won’t blow you away, so if you’re hoping to get some great pictures of the eclipse, you might want to have another camera handy (with appropriate filters to protect your eyes and your device). sensors).
Note the changes in your environment
Eclipse watchers can also use their smartphones to record environmental changes as the sun passes behind the moon as part of a challenge by Global Learning and Environmentally Beneficial Observations (Global). You’ll also need an air temperature thermometer for this, and if you want to be extra thorough, you can start recording observations a few days before the eclipse.
According to NASA, surface temperatures can drop as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit in some cases during a total solar eclipse. And certain types of clouds have been observed to disperse during these brief cooldowns, resulting in unexpectedly clear skies just minutes before totality. Data collected with the help of citizen scientists during the 2017 total solar eclipse showed this experienced less extreme drop in surface temperature.
Download the Globe Observer app to participate this time or , then open the Globe Eclipse tool from the in-app menu. There you’ll be able to record your temperature readings and take photos of the sky to note any changes in cloud cover and keep notes on wind conditions. Plan to allow a few hours for this—NASA asks that you add observations 1-2 hours before and after the eclipse. “You will measure the temperature every 5 to 10 minutes and every 15 to 30 minutes when you see clouds or change,” says NASA.
You can use the Globe Observer app for citizen science even after the day of the eclipse. There are apps that run year-round to record observations of things like clouds, land use, mosquito habitats, and tree heights. The eclipse tool is only available when an eclipse occurs.
Listen to the sounds of wildlife
Observations going back nearly 100 years have supported the idea that total solar eclipses temporarily disable some animals. Inspired by a 1935 study that collected observations of animal behavior during an eclipse three years earlier, invites members of the public to record what they hear and share their findings before, during and after the collection.
to be For the project, it is recommended that you first register on the website and review the short training materials to understand what kind of information the project is looking for. The website also has printable field notes pages that you can use to record your eclipse day observations. You should start taking notes at least 10 minutes before the general. Only after the eclipse is over should you fill out a web form to submit your observations along with latitude and longitude.
If you have an AudioMoth acoustic monitoring device around and a spare microSD card, you can go a step further and record the actual ambient sounds during the eclipse. . You need to set everything up early – the project calls for it to be done before noon on Saturday, April 6th – and let it register until at least 5pm local time on April 10th. send notes online and mail on SD card. You can find all the details to submit on the project website.
Take photos of the solar corona
The Based on the campaign before the 2017 total solar eclipse, it is an initiative designed to study the solar corona and plasma plumes from locations in the path of totality. A team of 100 Science Group Alpha Recruits (STARs) has already been selected, trained and given 3D-printed tracking devices for their cameras to capture the best images possible. However, the project will still accept photo submissions from any hobbyist who has a DSLR (and a solar filter) and wants to participate.
The it’s pretty comprehensive, so don’t wait until eclipse day to start figuring out your setup. You will be able to submit your photos after the eclipse via a form on the website.
Whether you’re gathering data for a citizen science mission or just planning to kick back and observe, make sure you have everything in place ahead of time if you choose to experience the eclipse. Although the partial eclipse phases last over an hour, depending on where you watch from, totality will end and be complete in about 3.5 to 4.5 minutes. You wouldn’t want to miss some of that time because you were busy with your camera.
Totality will begin west of Mexico shortly after 11:00 AM local time (2PM ET) and move northeastward for two or more hours before making landfall near Newfoundland, Canada around 5:30 PM local time. For people off the beaten track, there will still be something to see. Most of the United States will experience a partial eclipse that day. You can find out exactly when the eclipse will be visible from your location along with the percentage of sun coverage you can expect to witness.
