Skies to Stars: Eclipse = Nerd Time
By Ed DownsOkay, this writer must admit to being a science nerd. Add the disciplines of astronomy and astrophysics to the word “science,” and this writer will go on a genuine “nerd binge.” The much-touted “American Eclipse” on Aug. 21 gave our entire country a chance to unabashedly “nerd out” with family fun and a national interest in science that lent great relief from the hodgepodge of today’s dearth of unwelcome news, insulting politicians, and threats of nuclear annihilation.You see, our Sun, a very average mid-size star, located between the Perseus and Sagittarius arms of a very average galaxy called the Milky Way, in a local neighborhood called the Orion Spur, is kind of important to us. Given the Milky Way’s total diameter of about 100,000 light-years, our Sun is about 26,000 light-years from the center of our galaxy, which contains a great black hole that is trying to eat us. For you aviators who have become totally dependent upon the GPS, try loading that location into your database! As big as all that sounds, there are billions of galaxies in our universe, each have billions of stars supporting trillions of planets. Yep, I like remembering these stats whenever I meet someone who thinks they are the singular most important life form in existence.As puny as it might be, our Sun is still the power source of life in our tiny solar system. The Sun is especially important to the third orbiting rock, where a struggling life form, homo sapiens-sapiens (yep, you must say it twice), is utterly depended upon the Sun’s significant energy for survival. It is not by accident that the ancient Egyptian civilization chose Ra, the Sun god, as their choice for worship when they chose a temporary path of monotheism. Our Sun’s energy is, in fact, so great that without the Earth’s powerful magnetic fields (forming a Star Trek like “shields up”), our atmosphere would have been boiled away millions of years ago, and we would look a lot more like Mars than Earth.Our understanding of the Sun is almost genetic. When an opportunity pops up to enjoy the wonder of its power, by shutting it off, who can reset jumping on the bandwagon and joining in with a national day of wonder that would make an ancient Egyptian priest grin. But a total eclipse, especially when it travels across an entire country of professional observers, amateur astronomers, and partygoers, offers an opportunity for scientific research that is second to none… plus a cold beverage of choice.
NASA got into the act big time. As stated in a NASA press release, “Many researchers and citizen scientists will take advantage of this unique opportunity to study our Sun, solar system, and Earth under rare circumstances. The sudden blocking of the Sun during an eclipse reduces the light and changes the temperature on the ground, creating conditions that can affect local weather and animal behavior. Understanding the Sun has always been a top priority for space scientists. These scientists study how the Sun affects space and the space environment of planets––a field known as heliophysics. As a source of light and heat for life on Earth, scientists want to understand how our Sun works, why it changes, and how these changes influence life on Earth. The Sun’s constant stream of solar material and radiation can impact spacecraft, communications systems, and orbiting astronauts.” NASA backed this up with no less than 11 spacecraft, three aircraft, 50 high-altitude balloons, and the International Space Station. The world now depends upon satellite technology for virtually all communications, weather information, spy stuff, Earth research projects, and many other applications, with GPS becoming increasingly important for hundreds of uses. This entire network of high-tech devices can be, and is, regularly crippled by a variety of solar activities that we are just now beginning to understand. This event has provided data that will be studied for years. Finally, there are the nerds, like this writer, millions of us. While not able to drive to a location of “totality,” my home ranch did experience about 85 percent coverage, as captured with my 12-inch reflector telescope and a hand-held cell phone camera. Yep, pretty low tech but lots of fun. Regrettably, the special safety film solar filter (with a homemade adapter for my scope) had acquired a thin film that slightly blurred the image, but who cares really. You see, the idea is to participate in something that is truly galactic in size, to join in with a family of nerds that does more than just see it on TV. We participate. Sometimes we get mediocre results, but we always learn something. After all, isn’t learning the objective of science, or for that matter, being a proficient and safe pilot?
NASA got into the act big time. As stated in a NASA press release, “Many researchers and citizen scientists will take advantage of this unique opportunity to study our Sun, solar system, and Earth under rare circumstances. The sudden blocking of the Sun during an eclipse reduces the light and changes the temperature on the ground, creating conditions that can affect local weather and animal behavior. Understanding the Sun has always been a top priority for space scientists. These scientists study how the Sun affects space and the space environment of planets––a field known as heliophysics. As a source of light and heat for life on Earth, scientists want to understand how our Sun works, why it changes, and how these changes influence life on Earth. The Sun’s constant stream of solar material and radiation can impact spacecraft, communications systems, and orbiting astronauts.” NASA backed this up with no less than 11 spacecraft, three aircraft, 50 high-altitude balloons, and the International Space Station. The world now depends upon satellite technology for virtually all communications, weather information, spy stuff, Earth research projects, and many other applications, with GPS becoming increasingly important for hundreds of uses. This entire network of high-tech devices can be, and is, regularly crippled by a variety of solar activities that we are just now beginning to understand. This event has provided data that will be studied for years. Finally, there are the nerds, like this writer, millions of us. While not able to drive to a location of “totality,” my home ranch did experience about 85 percent coverage, as captured with my 12-inch reflector telescope and a hand-held cell phone camera. Yep, pretty low tech but lots of fun. Regrettably, the special safety film solar filter (with a homemade adapter for my scope) had acquired a thin film that slightly blurred the image, but who cares really. You see, the idea is to participate in something that is truly galactic in size, to join in with a family of nerds that does more than just see it on TV. We participate. Sometimes we get mediocre results, but we always learn something. After all, isn’t learning the objective of science, or for that matter, being a proficient and safe pilot? 