NSN Webinar Series: The Scientific Magic of Total Solar Eclipses
Channel: NASA Night Sky Network
Date: 2023-04-28

Join the Night Sky Network and Shadia Habbal on Thursday, April 27 at 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern to learn about the scientific discoveries made from careful observations of total solar eclipses around the world. 

The Scientific Magic of Total Solar Eclipses

Throughout the millennia, total solar eclipses have instilled fear in some people while inspiring others, as the Sun’s wispy corona reveals itself in fleeting moments lasting anywhere from seconds to under 7 minutes. The recognition that the Sun’s corona is the extension of the solar atmosphere into space, together with deep rooted magnetic fields which pop up in strange ways from the solar surface, is less than a century old. With this discovery, our nearest star has paved the way for understanding some fundamental processes in nature that shape not only our immediate environment but the Universe itself. The consequences of such an expansion can be awe-inspiring yet fearful in some rare cases. In this talk, I will lead the audience through some of the recent scientific discoveries and adventures across cultures of the Solar Wind Sherpas.
 
About Shadia Habbal
Shadia Habbal’s interest in total solar eclipse observations was triggered by the advent of the first digital cameras which could be carried into the field. Her goal was to probe the temperature of the expanding corona. Since her first expedition in 1995, she has led 18 others across remote areas of the globe with her group, the Solar Wind Sherpas. These unique observations have unraveled some of the secrets of the corona and the expansion of the solar wind.


Additional Resources:
The Solar Wind Sherpas
https://project.ifa.hawaii.edu/solarwindsherpas/

Eclipse Chaser: Science in the Moon's Shadow, By Ilima Loomis, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, HMHBooks.com, 2019
https://www.sbfprize.org/eclipse-chaser

NSN Webinar Series Page: Current & Upcoming Event Schedule:
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=707


Night Sky Network 
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov

Astronomical Society of the Pacific
https://astrosociety.org