{"id":97810,"date":"2017-08-01T16:26:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T20:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-406606"},"modified":"2023-07-26T14:57:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T18:57:11","slug":"nasa-marshalls-dr-alphonse-sterling-subject-of-black-suns-eclipse-documentary-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/nasa-marshalls-dr-alphonse-sterling-subject-of-black-suns-eclipse-documentary-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Marshall’s Dr. Alphonse Sterling, Subject of ‘Black Suns’ Eclipse Documentary, Prepares for Aug. 21 Total Solar Eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Among the scores of scientists avidly awaiting the Aug. 21 \u201cEclipse Across America\u201d \u2014 the first total solar eclipse to span the continental United States since 1918 \u2014 is Dr. Alphonse Sterling of NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Sterling is as excited about the upcoming event as any career astrophysicist devoted to the study of our turbulent star and its impact on our homeworld, he\u2019s also one of just two eclipse experts to star in a current, feature-length documentary on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1563\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?w=1563\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png 1603w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=229,300 229w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=768,1006 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=782,1024 782w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=1172,1536 1172w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=1563,2048 1563w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=305,400 305w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=458,600 458w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=687,900 687w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=916,1200 916w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/black-suns.png?resize=1527,2000 1527w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1563px) 100vw, 1563px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The poster for the documentary “Black Suns: “An Astrophysics Adventure” features Marshall researcher Dr. Alphonse Sterling, center, along with fellow eclipse hunters Dr. Jarita Holbrook, left, and Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong><em>Credits: Dr. Jarita Holbrook<\/em><\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Sterling and Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, a research professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, are the subjects of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/201546017\" rel=\"noopener\">Black Suns: An Astrophysics Adventure<\/a>.\u201d The documentary chronicles their travels in May and November 2012 to observe a pair of solar eclipses from vantage points in Tokyo, Japan, and in Cairns, Australia, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Designed to inspire young people to pursue STEM education \u2014 the fields of science, technology, engineering and math \u2014 \u201cBlack Suns\u201d explores why Sterling and Oluseyi became scientists and recounts their struggles as minorities in a STEM field. It\u2019s directed by New York filmmaker Kelvin Phillips and narrated by cultural astronomer Dr. Jarita Holbrook, a policy fellow in the National Science Foundation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/dir\/index.jsp?org=OISE\" rel=\"noopener\">Office of International Science and Engineering<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBlack Suns,\u201d which debuted June 9 at the annual Art of Brooklyn Film Festival in New York, was awarded the Jury Prize, the festival\u2019s top honor. It will screen during the Capital City Black Film Festival Aug. 17-20 in Austin, Texas, and the BronzeLens Film Festival Aug. 23-27 in Atlanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kindred spirits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Sterling, who found his passion for astrophysics and solar studies in the late 1970s while studying physics at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, \u201cBlack Suns\u201d was a logical extension of that passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A student of the Japanese language since college, he first visited that country in 1979, between semesters at Caltech. He returned from 1989 to 1991 for a postdoctoral research fellowship at Kyoto University in Kyoto, and for much of the 1990s he supported satellite and science operations for the <a href=\"https:\/\/solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov\/Yohkoh.shtml\" rel=\"noopener\">Yohkoh<\/a> mission, an orbiting solar X-ray and gamma-ray observatory. He returned to Japan again following the 2006 launch of the international solar probe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/hinode\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Hinode<\/a>, and worked at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, conducting solar physics research and liaising between Japanese and American personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was during this period that Sterling and Oluseyi \u2014 who had become friends when the latter visited the University of Alabama in Huntsville \u2014 met Holbrook during an eclipse-watching trip to Ghana. Sterling and Holbrook realized they were both Caltech alumni. \u201cThere was an immediate connection,\u201d he said. \u201cJarita had this crazy notion about making a documentary \u2014 and it snowballed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Holbrook\u2019s pride in the film is self-evident. \u201cThis is the first documentary to focus on African-American astrophysicists doing solar eclipse physics, and the first time so many African-American scientists and students appear in one film,\u201d she said. \u201cDuring the 1980s, at most, there were 10 African-American students at Caltech at the same time, out of about a thousand undergraduates. We are the rarest of the rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plumes and jets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As \u201cBlack Suns\u201d continues to garner acclaim, Sterling is already thinking ahead to the Aug. 21 eclipse. He plans to be in Idaho Falls, Idaho, studying phenomena called solar plumes \u2014 long, feathery jets of superheated plasma that erupt from the sun\u2019s polar regions, sometimes extending 10-12 million miles into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor some time now, astronomers at Marshall have been studying coronal jets, small-scale transient bursts of super-hot plasma occurring in the solar atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to determine whether solar plumes are initiated and fed by these coronal jets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That work could have practical value worldwide. Findings by the Marshall team, led by Sterling and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v523\/n7561\/abs\/nature14556.html\" rel=\"noopener\">published in 2015<\/a>,  suggest coronal jets work analogously to larger-scale solar eruptions \u2014 the source of coronal mass ejections and solar flares \u2014 that are capable of disrupting Earth-based communications and threatening humans and hardware in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rapid pace of solar discovery, and exciting national events such as the upcoming eclipse, keep the subject matter fresh and fascinating for Sterling. \u201cThere may not be much new <em>under<\/em> the sun, but there\u2019s no end to what we can learn about the sun itself,\u201d he said, studying eclipse data. \u201cEven in those moments when it\u2019s hidden from us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about NASA\u2019s \u201cEclipse Across America\u201d campaign, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/eclipse2017.nasa.gov\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/eclipse2017.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Molly Porter<br>\nNASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama<br>\n256-544-0034<br>\n<a href=\"mailto:molly.a.porter@nasa.gov\">molly.a.porter@nasa.gov<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among the scores of scientists avidly awaiting the Aug. 21 \u201cEclipse Across America\u201d \u2014 the first total solar eclipse to span the continental United States since 1918 \u2014 is Dr. Alphonse Sterling of NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. While Sterling is as excited about the upcoming event as any career astrophysicist devoted [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":47011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3761,2864,3244],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[8391],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Marshall’s Dr. Alphonse Sterling, Subject of ‘Black Suns’ Eclipse Documentary, Prepares for Aug. 21 Total Solar Eclipse","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/nasa-marshalls-dr-alphonse-sterling-subject-of-black-suns-eclipse-documentary-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/nasa-marshalls-dr-alphonse-sterling-subject-of-black-suns-eclipse-documentary-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/eclipse2017-17-06-23.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/eclipse2017-17-06-23.jpg"},"articleSection":"The Solar System","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lee Mohon"}],"creator":["Lee Mohon"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["The Solar System","Skywatching","Eclipses","Solar Eclipses","2017 Solar Eclipse","Marshall Space Flight Center"],"dateCreated":"2017-08-01T20:26:00Z","datePublished":"2017-08-01T20:26:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T18:57:11Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Marshall’s Dr. Alphonse Sterling, Subject of ‘Black Suns’ Eclipse Documentary, Prepares for Aug. 21 Total Solar Eclipse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/marshall\/nasa-marshalls-dr-alphonse-sterling-subject-of-black-suns-eclipse-documentary-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/eclipse2017-17-06-23.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2017-08-01T20:26:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"The Solar System\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"The Solar System,Skywatching,Eclipses,Solar Eclipses,2017 Solar Eclipse,Marshall Space Flight Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Lee Mohon\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"time_ago":"7 years","featured_image":{"id":47011,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/eclipse2017-17-06-23.jpg","title":"eclipse2017-17-06-23","alt":"eclipse 2017 for ICYMI 170623","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97810"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":508444,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97810\/revisions\/508444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97810"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=97810"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=97810"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=97810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}