“What can astronomers do when the moon tries to obscure the sun during a total solar eclipse and clouds intervene?” Popular Science posed this dilemma to its readers. The story of the 1919 solar eclipse. “Let’s pack up and go home,” was the answer from the average eclipse observer. But even in 1919, extreme eclipse chasers had contingency plans.
The full shadow of the moon moves across the Earth with great force 1,500 miles per hour Approximately every 18 months. In a twist of cosmic fate unique to our solar system, our planet’s only moon happens to be of the right size and distance to completely block the face of the sun, temporarily exposing its corona, It creates a spectacular sight. But that complete overlap occurs only on a narrow road, or total road, about 160 miles wide.
extreme eclipse chaserCalling themselves Umbraphiles, they pursue the path wherever it comes, even to the most remote parts of the earth. The path carved by the moon’s shadow typically traverses thousands of miles across oceans and continents, so the goal is to choose a destination known for cloudless skies.
Kelly Kolek, NASA program manager, said: Solar eclipse in 2024The satellite, which is scheduled to zip across the United States from Texas to Maine on April 8, will observe the eclipse from a variety of locations, including the deck of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and the coast of northern Chile. . For Kolek, the experience is unparalleled. “It brings up really strong emotions, from fear that the sun is gone to feelings that are so magical and so exciting,” she says.Immediately after finishing – only the whole Finishes within a few minutes, it depends on the location — she admits that her immediate thought was: where are you going? ”
In 1919, traveling across the world by jet plane was not yet possible, and there were only a limited number of developed and accessible locations on Earth. Most eclipse chasers were deep-pocketed scientists and astronomers who had the resources to launch expeditions, finance months of travel, and transport large amounts of equipment to remote locations. That’s why an astronomer’s plan to attach a telescope to a seaplane and fly above the clouds in 1919 seemed newsworthy, even though the editors of Popular Science were skeptical it would work. It seemed to me.As an alternative, we propose an “unmanned balloon” equipped with a camera. George Halefounder of California’s Mount Wilson Observatory, seemed much more practical.
Even if you are an intrepid aeronautical astronomer, david tod, an eccentric eclipse chaser and former Amherst College professor, has no record of success with his seaplane program. But the 1919 solar eclipse went down in the history books for providing that backdrop. Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson To prove Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Currently, NASA conducts dozens of heliophysics missions, most of them from space-based observatories, where cloudy skies are not a possibility.
A total solar eclipse never lasts more than eight minutes. Usually it doesn’t last much longer. Astronomers travel thousands of miles to remote locations to make the most of their precious few minutes. Actors in a play are no more carefully rehearsed than astronomers are in front of various instruments. None of the members of the solar eclipse expedition will observe the entire solar eclipse. Each performs special duties assigned to him.
What happens if clouds or fog get between the Earth and the sun? What if it rains? All these careful preparations and tedious journeys will be in vain. However, the fog is always in the lowlands and never exceeds 1,000 feet in thickness. So if clouds or fog creep between the Earth and the sun, the solution is to climb above them and watch the eclipse in all its spookiness.
So it’s no wonder astronomers are interested in an experiment conducted by Professor David Todd of the Amherst College Observatory that uses seaplanes soaring high above the clouds to observe solar eclipses.
Professor Todd’s experiment
Professor Todd set out to photograph the solar eclipse, which occurred on May 29, with the assistance of US naval officers and seaplanes. The steamship carrying the expedition was scheduled to anchor at a point near the equator. Launch a seaplane off the coast of South America and wait until astronomers test the plan.
It might have been expected that Professor Todd would be the first to bring astronomy into space. He is the most enthusiastic, indomitable, and inventive of the eclipse watchers. Several years ago, he went so far as to devise a way to operate a group of astronomical instruments from a central point, but because the sky was obscured at the time, his invention could not be used to observe this particular eclipse. There wasn’t. .
Although the results of Professor Todd’s experiment have not been reported at the time of publication, the feasibility of using a seaplane may be questionable. The vibrations caused by the seaplane engine are so great that the stable platform that all telescopes must have is reduced to a shaking table, hardly suitable for Professor Todd’s purposes. Indeed, it was his intention to cancel vibrations by means of an elastic mounting of the telescope. But anyone who knows anything about the inertia of moving parts will admit that it is almost impossible to obtain absolute stability in this way.
A more practical scheme
In our imagination, Professor George E. Hale of the Mount Wilson Observatory has a far more practical plan. His plan is to fly an unmanned balloon above the clouds and use a gyroscope to fix the camera on the balloon. Professor Hale plans to study the corona – the ghostly appendage that surrounds the sun and is only visible from Earth during eclipses – at any time.
As we ascend through the Earth’s atmosphere, we will probably reach a point at an altitude of 30 miles or more. There, the sky is pitch black instead of blue.
The sky is blue because the air contains millions of dust particles that diffuse sunlight. In the pitch-black canopy above a region of dust particles, where the air is very thin, stars appear in the right places even in broad daylight. And the sun is a big, glowing ball hanging in the darkness. The wonderful corona, the main object of study during a total solar eclipse, shines with its pearly beauty.
Should Professor Todd succeed?
If Professor Hale succeeds in realizing his plan, he won’t have to wait for a total solar eclipse to study the coronavirus, but he will be able to take photos whenever he wants and study it every day.
