Published June 2009
| public
Journal Article
Scientific observations at total solar eclipses
- Creators
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Pasachoff, Jay M.
Abstract
The occasion of the longest totality of an eclipse in the 18 yr 11⅓ d saros cycle leads to taking stock of the scientific value of ground-based eclipse observations in this space age. Though a number of space satellites from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Russia study the Sun, scientists at eclipses can observe the solar chromosphere and corona at higher spatial resolution, at higher temporal resolution, and at higher spectral resolution than are possible aloft. Furthermore, eclipse expeditions can transport a wide variety of state-of-the-art equipment to the path of totality. Thus, for at least some years to come, solar eclipse observations will remain both scientifically valuable and cost-effective ways to study the outer solar atmosphere.
Additional Information
© 2009 Institute of Physics. Received 2009 April 3; accepted 2009 May 7. My expeditions have been partly supported by grants, most recently ATM- 0552116, from the Solar Terrestrial Research Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation's Division of Atmospheric Sciences, the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society, NASA's Planetary Astronomy Division for the CCD cameras, Sigma Xi, and the Rob Spring Fund and the Ryan Patrick Gaishin Fund at Williams College. I thank Bryce A. Babcock, Steven P. Souza of Williams College, Robert Lucas of the University of Sydney, Alphya Nesterenko of the State University of Novosibirsk and Igor Nesterenko of the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, and John H. Seiradakis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, for their assistance and colleagueship. We are pleased with the continued collaboration of Jonathan Kern of the Carnegie Observatories and of Wendy Carlos. J.M.P. thanks Michael Brown and the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech for their hospitality. Pasachoff and his team also appreciate the collaboration of Yihua Yan of the National Astronomical Observatories of China, Jin Zhu of the Beijing Planetarium, and Lin Lan of Hangzhou High School, during the two years of eclipse-planning for the 2009 totality. He thanks Serge Koutchmy and Luc Damé in France and Jagdev Singh in India for their comments on his manuscript.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 16008
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20090923-134406941
- ATM-0552116
- NSF
- National Geographic Society
- NASA
- Sigma Xi
- Williams College
- Created
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2009-09-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field