This program was broadcast this evening on PBS. The first 15 minutes or so give the general viewing audience a brief history of Solar eclipses, where and when the April 8th shadow will travel across the lower 48 states, and how to safely view the eclipse. And several people saying, "You don't want to miss it, a life-changing experience." We will see it, weather permitting, when we visit friends in the Texas portion of the path. Let's hope Mother Nature helps with clear weather.
The remainder of the program delves deeper into the Scientific aspects of predicting Solar eclipses, with modern technology and the understanding of Sun-Earth-Moon movements and gravitational interactions, the position of the shadow is predicted to 1/100th of a second and within 100 feet or so.
Then it goes into the various ways we are able to study the Sun, including analyzing the temperature and composition of the corona and the solar flares.
I am a Scientist and a project that really impressed me is sending four Solar telescopes into Earth orbit, presumably geosynchronous, and they are spaced apart so each can observe the Sun at the same time from different angles. What this does is allow triangulation to create a three-dimensional view of what is happening in the coronal ejections and the Solar wind. This isn't idle curiosity, the hope is that the data will help build prediction models to help us better deal with the Sun's impact on Earthly systems.
Another neat thing, the Parker Solar Probe, which has been in an elliptical orbit around the Sun already for several years, will be in a position to observe Solar activity at 90 degrees from Earth-based observations, to further enhance the ability to interpret the data.
This program has something for everyone, the basic eclipse explanation, how the relative sizes and distances of the Sun, Moon, and Earth are just perfect for a total eclipse that allows the corona to be visible. Plus the added detail on Scientific studies of the Sun.
Great presentation and it is free to watch as a 53-minute program on the web.
Edit: We watched it from the back porch of friends in Austin and, while it was a cloudy day, there were enough breaks in clouds that we able to experience it nicely.
The remainder of the program delves deeper into the Scientific aspects of predicting Solar eclipses, with modern technology and the understanding of Sun-Earth-Moon movements and gravitational interactions, the position of the shadow is predicted to 1/100th of a second and within 100 feet or so.
Then it goes into the various ways we are able to study the Sun, including analyzing the temperature and composition of the corona and the solar flares.
I am a Scientist and a project that really impressed me is sending four Solar telescopes into Earth orbit, presumably geosynchronous, and they are spaced apart so each can observe the Sun at the same time from different angles. What this does is allow triangulation to create a three-dimensional view of what is happening in the coronal ejections and the Solar wind. This isn't idle curiosity, the hope is that the data will help build prediction models to help us better deal with the Sun's impact on Earthly systems.
Another neat thing, the Parker Solar Probe, which has been in an elliptical orbit around the Sun already for several years, will be in a position to observe Solar activity at 90 degrees from Earth-based observations, to further enhance the ability to interpret the data.
This program has something for everyone, the basic eclipse explanation, how the relative sizes and distances of the Sun, Moon, and Earth are just perfect for a total eclipse that allows the corona to be visible. Plus the added detail on Scientific studies of the Sun.
Great presentation and it is free to watch as a 53-minute program on the web.
Edit: We watched it from the back porch of friends in Austin and, while it was a cloudy day, there were enough breaks in clouds that we able to experience it nicely.