The SWRI-led team succeeded in observing the Australian eclipse as preparation
SAN ANTONIO – 20.4.23 – Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) led a team in the unique Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) experiment to image the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, during a short solar eclipse on the opposite side of the Earth. Using four platforms in Australia’s northwest corner, the team was able to observe the millions of degree solar corona during the April 20 eclipse seen from the Exmouth peninsula. The Australian eclipse serves as a unique scientific opportunity and exercise for program leadership in preparation for the 2024 US eclipse.
The CATE 2024 team traveled nearly 10,000 miles for one minute in total to observe the Sun’s corona from the unique perspective offered by a total solar eclipse. This phenomenon allows scientists to view the complex and dynamic outer atmosphere in a way that is not possible or practical in any other way, opening a new window into our understanding of the solar corona. SwRI is leading the Citizen CATE 2024 experiment, a broad scientific outreach initiative that will create continuous 60-minute high-resolution films during April 8, 2024, the solar eclipse in the United States. CATE 2024 will use a network of 35 teams of citizen scientists representing local communities in the path of the eclipse’s shadow.
“Even though this was a very brief eclipse, our team of community scientists worked flawlessly and captured incredible images of the elusive structure of the sun’s corona,” said Dr. Amir Caspi, principal scientist at SwRI in Boulder, Colorado, and lead of the CATE 2024 project.
The observations the team obtained will allow scientists to study the complexity of the Sun’s corona including its intricate shape, how it changes over time, or what causes the corona to reach temperatures of millions of degrees Fahrenheit. Today’s drawings from Australia will also help the team fine-tune its experimental procedures for its very large distributed community effort in the United States next year.
“This eclipse provides the perfect opportunity to test our equipment and procedures, and to train our community leaders for the next eclipse in 2024,” said Caspi. “When it comes to preparing for this kind of grand undertaking, there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
The Citizen CATE 2024 project is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, led by SwRI, and includes the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Solar Observatory, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Institute of Space Sciences. Beyond its scientific goals, the project aims to engage the many unique and diverse communities along the path of eclipses as an integral part of major scientific research efforts.
“Total solar eclipses provide an extraordinary opportunity to bring the public and science together,” said Dr. Carrie Black, National Solar Observatory program officer in NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences. “The Citizen CATE 2024 project harnesses the public value of science to create a lasting educational impact on the scientific and local community.”
“Citizen CATE is part of a large family of NASA citizen science projects gearing up for the Great Year of Heliophysics initiative in 2023-2024, inspiring excitement and curiosity along with excellent participatory science opportunities,” said Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald, Citizen Science Strategic Working Group lead at NASA.
The current project builds on the experience of the first Citizen CATE experiment, which used 68 stations to observe the August 2017 total solar eclipse that spanned the entire continental United States. CATE 2024 extends scientific goals by measuring polarized light and engages teams across new eclipse paths. Sarah Kovac, CATE 2017 participant and now a postdoctoral researcher at SwRI, serves as project manager for CATE 2024.
“Participating in CATE as a baccalaureate inspired me to pursue a career in heliophysics,” said Kovac. “Seven years and one Ph.D. Later, I will be on the professional side of planning eclipse expeditions, and it is a pleasure to share this passion with the next generation of young scientists.”
The Australia 2023 observation effort includes team members from SwRI, NSO, NCAR, University of Northern Colorado, Rice University, University of Indiana, and University of Maine.
The project will begin recruiting a team from the eclipse path community in fall 2023. Interested parties can find more information and a contact form on the project’s website, https://eclipse.boulder.swri.edu.
For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/heliophysics.
Credit: SwRI/Citizen CATE 2024/Dan Seaton
SAN ANTONIO – 20.4.23 – Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) led a team in the unique Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) experiment to image the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, during a short solar eclipse on the opposite side of the Earth. Using four platforms in Australia’s northwest corner, the team was able to observe the millions of degree solar corona during the April 20 eclipse seen from the Exmouth peninsula. The Australian eclipse serves as a unique scientific opportunity and exercise for program leadership in preparation for the 2024 US eclipse.
The CATE 2024 team traveled nearly 10,000 miles for one minute in total to observe the Sun’s corona from the unique perspective offered by a total solar eclipse. This phenomenon allows scientists to view the complex and dynamic outer atmosphere in a way that is not possible or practical in any other way, opening a new window into our understanding of the solar corona. SwRI is leading the Citizen CATE 2024 experiment, a broad scientific outreach initiative that will create continuous 60-minute high-resolution films during April 8, 2024, the solar eclipse in the United States. CATE 2024 will use a network of 35 teams of citizen scientists representing local communities in the path of the eclipse’s shadow.
“Even though this was a very brief eclipse, our team of community scientists worked flawlessly and captured incredible images of the elusive structure of the sun’s corona,” said Dr. Amir Caspi, principal scientist at SwRI in Boulder, Colorado, and lead of the CATE 2024 project.
The observations the team obtained will allow scientists to study the complexity of the Sun’s corona including its intricate shape, how it changes over time, or what causes the corona to reach temperatures of millions of degrees Fahrenheit. Today’s drawings from Australia will also help the team fine-tune its experimental procedures for its very large distributed community effort in the United States next year.
“This eclipse provides the perfect opportunity to test our equipment and procedures, and to train our community leaders for the next eclipse in 2024,” said Caspi. “When it comes to preparing for this kind of grand undertaking, there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
The Citizen CATE 2024 project is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, led by SwRI, and includes the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Solar Observatory, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Institute of Space Sciences. Beyond its scientific goals, the project aims to engage the many unique and diverse communities along the path of eclipses as an integral part of major scientific research efforts.
“Total solar eclipses provide an extraordinary opportunity to bring the public and science together,” said Dr. Carrie Black, National Solar Observatory program officer in NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences. “The Citizen CATE 2024 project harnesses the public value of science to create a lasting educational impact on the scientific and local community.”
“Citizen CATE is part of a large family of NASA citizen science projects gearing up for the Great Year of Heliophysics initiative in 2023-2024, inspiring excitement and curiosity along with excellent participatory science opportunities,” said Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald, Citizen Science Strategic Working Group lead at NASA.
The current project builds on the experience of the first Citizen CATE experiment, which used 68 stations to observe the August 2017 total solar eclipse that spanned the entire continental United States. CATE 2024 extends scientific goals by measuring polarized light and engages teams across new eclipse paths. Sarah Kovac, CATE 2017 participant and now a postdoctoral researcher at SwRI, serves as project manager for CATE 2024.
“Participating in CATE as a baccalaureate inspired me to pursue a career in heliophysics,” said Kovac. “Seven years and one Ph.D. Later, I will be on the professional side of planning eclipse expeditions, and it is a pleasure to share this passion with the next generation of young scientists.”
The Australia 2023 observation effort includes team members from SwRI, NSO, NCAR, University of Northern Colorado, Rice University, University of Indiana, and University of Maine.
The project will begin recruiting a team from the eclipse path community in fall 2023. Interested parties can find more information and a contact form on the project’s website, https://eclipse.boulder.swri.edu.
For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/heliophysics.
