Featuring Amir Caspi
Presented By KUNC
Door time: 7:00
Show time: 7:30
Total solar eclipses are one of the most spectacular astronomical phenomena observable with the naked eye. They also provide a rare opportunity for scientists to study the Sun’s million-degree atmosphere — the solar corona — in ways and detail that are not possible at any other time. We ran two innovative experiments during the most recent U.S. total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024: flying telescopes in NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude jets at 50,000 feet, and dozens of ground-based telescopes operated by teams of amateur community participants all along the eclipse path. In this presentation, we’ll describe the surprising science of the Sun and solar corona, its influence on us here on Earth, and the wonder of experiencing a total solar eclipse. We’ll describe our two groundbreaking experiments and present their first results, including never-before-seen images of the solar corona in midwave infrared light and in polarized visible light.