Harnessing the Unique Science, Education and Outreach Opportunities of the 8 April 2024 Great American Total Solar Eclipse

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Total solar eclipses are awe-inspiring astronomical events with profound impact on those who witness them. This project funds imaging and spectroscopic observations in the visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) part of the coronal emission during the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse (TSEs). The observations will probe the most critical spatial extent of the solar corona spanning the solar surface out to several solar radii (Rs). Observing sites across the US path of totality will be selected to acquire 20 minutes of continuous observations. Graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii will participate in TSE observations and engage with local communities at the observing sites for outreach. This project is in response to NSF Dear Colleague Letter 23-014: Great American Solar Eclipses 2023 and 2024. Remote sensing broadband, narrowband and spectroscopic imaging during TSEs are currently the only tools for exploring the underlying physical processes responsible for producing complex coronal structures due to the intricate coupling between coronal plasmas and magnetic fields. These processes also produce the steep temperature gradient beyond the 6000 K surface temperature which is responsible for coronal expansion in the form of the solar wind. Inferences of plasma properties from observations of coronal emission resulting from scattering, collisions and photo-excitation, the broadband visible and select emission from ions at discrete wavelengths in the VIS and NIR wavelength range include the elemental and ionic composition of coronal plasmas, species temperatures, densities, outflow velocities and non-thermal motions. Predicted to coincide with a maximum in solar activity, operation of the instrumentation at the 2024 TSE from multiple observing sites spread across a few thousand km will further provide the thermodynamic characteristics of dynamic events, such as jets, waves, turbulence and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), triggered primarily by erupting prominences. The accessibility, duration and availability of multiple observing sites during the 2024 total solar eclipse will not only provide invaluable scientific data but will also offer an outstanding opportunity for education and public outreach. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.