Title: “Observations of the December 4, 2021, Total Solar Eclipse from Antarctica”
Speaker: Dr. Jay Pasachoff
Abstract:
Dr. Jay Pasachoff led the Williams College Eclipse Expedition to observe the December 4, 2021, total solar eclipse from the air, aboard a chartered commercial jetliner, intercepting the Moon’s shadow at 39,000 feet (11,887 meters) near the coast of Antarctica. The eclipsed Sun was visible only 4 degrees above the horizon, with totality lasting 1 minute, 52 seconds.
A second expedition team from Williams College observed the eclipse from the ground, on Antarctica’s Union Glacier.
The goal of the research was to understand how the Sun’s corona is heated to a million degrees, even though the visible surface of the Sun is only about 6,000 degrees Celsius. Somehow, energy is being injected with the help of the Sun’s magnetic field into the corona.
Abstract:
Dr. Jay Pasachoff led the Williams College Eclipse Expedition to observe the December 4, 2021, total solar eclipse from the air, aboard a chartered commercial jetliner, intercepting the Moon’s shadow at 39,000 feet (11,887 meters) near the coast of Antarctica. The eclipsed Sun was visible only 4 degrees above the horizon, with totality lasting 1 minute, 52 seconds.
A second expedition team from Williams College observed the eclipse from the ground, on Antarctica’s Union Glacier.
The goal of the research was to understand how the Sun’s corona is heated to a million degrees, even though the visible surface of the Sun is only about 6,000 degrees Celsius. Somehow, energy is being injected with the help of the Sun’s magnetic field into the corona.