In addition to fascinating the public, the solar eclipse, visible in several cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada, arouses the interest of the scientific community. Astronomical observations and data collection on animal behavior are planned.
First modification:
2 min
The astronomical phenomenon will begin at 9:51 in the morning on the west coast of Mexico and will last around 4 minutes. Then it will be visible in the states of Durango, Coahuila and Texas. “For minutes it will get dark as if it were night. The shadow of the moon will begin to cover the edge of the sun at 2:04 pm Eastern Time in the United States,” indicates the correspondent of RFI in the United States, Cristóbal Vásquez.
The total eclipse on April 8 is above all an exceptional moment for astronomers. Total eclipses are “rare” and represent an “incredible scientific opportunity,” said Pam Melroy, associate administrator of NASA, the US space agency.
When the Moon completely covers the disk of the Sun, the solar corona, that is, the outer layer of the solar atmosphere, is seen better than using instruments. Today's observations will allow us to collect data to try to understand, for example, why the heat of this region of the sun increases with distance.
Scientists will also study changes in the upper part of Earth's atmosphere, the ionosphere. It is through there that a large part of the communications signals pass. “Disturbances in this layer can cause problems for our GPS and communications,” says NASA executive Kelly Korreck.
The ionosphere is affected by the Sun: its particles become charged with electricity under solar radiation during the day.
Three small sounding rockets will be launched before, during and just after the eclipse from Virginia, in the eastern United States, to measure these changes.
The reduction in light caused by the eclipse, which is faster and more localized than in a sunset, should provide a better understanding of how light affects the ionosphere.
animal behaviors
On Earth, eclipses cause changes in animal behavior: roosters and crickets that stop singing, giraffes that gallop away or birds that modify their flight are phenomena that have been observed in the past.
The Granby Zoo in Quebec, located in the path of the eclipse, will closely monitor the behavior of macaques, bears, zebras and leopards.
popular event
In the United States, “it is estimated that 31 million Americans live in places where a complete solar eclipse can be seen. Thousands of people have already purchased special sunglasses to see the eclipse and protect their vision. There will be a broadcast of the event on the website of the Space Museum in Washington and there will be an open-air festival on the National Mall,” reports our correspondent Cristóbal Vásquez.
The next solar eclipse that can be seen from the East Coast of the United States is predicted to be in 2078.
With information from Cristóbal Vásquez from Washington, and from AFP.
