Category: Sun

Umbraphiles Rejoice!

~ mehopper

umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them.

You are probably hearing a lot about the August 12th solar eclipse. It’s path of totality will pass over the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Iceland, Atlantic Ocean, Portugal, and northern Spain.

The National Solar Observatory has created a neat eclipse map that shows the path.

Here’s a trailer from NASA about this eclipse.

NASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA (Official Website)

If you don’t live in the path of totality, then you can still watch it online. NASA will livestream the eclipse starting at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

The Exploratorium in San Francisco will also livestream a telescope view of the eclipse from the path of totality in Villalibado, Spain.

Finally, the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has a page where you can see what the eclipse will look like at any Location.

However, as I pointed out in my post Umbraphiles about the Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, this event isn’t all that rare.

Here’s a story about just how “unrare” they are.

Total Eclipses Aren’t that Rare — and You’ve Probably Missed a Bunch of Them: They Happen About Once Every 18 Months (Sara Chodosh, Popular Science)

There is one group of people who know this well — they are the Umbraphiles, more commonly known as Eclipse Chasers. They are unique tribe, and their fascination with the celestial event tends to be described in terms outside the realm of science.

Here’s a link to the article about them that actually inspired the title of this post.

Chasing Totality: A Look Into the World of Umbraphiles (Andy Wright, Atlas Obscura)

Better yet, here’s a talk by David Baron that may have single-handedly helped to increase the ranks of Umbraphiles over the last few years.

David Baron’s Talk (TEDxMileHigh)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (YouTube Playlist)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (Official Website)

If you’re inclined to join the ranks of umbraphiles, here’s a handy list that includes when and where future total solar eclipses will occur.

List of Solar Eclipses in the 21st Century (Wikipedia)

If you would like to become an Armchair-Umbraphile, then head on over to YouTube — there are a ton of 360° Videos of Solar Eclipses to enjoy anytime and anywhere.

Here are even more links that might be of interest to Umbraphiles.

History of Eclipses (Objectivity, YouTube)
Eclipses (National Solar Observatory)
Solar Eclipse Resources (National Informal STEM Education Network)
Eclipses (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy)
Eclipses (Wolfram Alpha)

Have a great week, and may your weather be great for viewing the eclipse if you are lucky enough to be in the path!

Find out more about the Sun, Moon, Stars and the Universe in general …

Umbraphiles

~ mehopper

umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them.

You’ve probably heard about the April 8th solar eclipse (Wikipedia), and if you live near the path of totality, then you’ve probably also seen news stories like this one.

Party in the Path of Totality at These Solar Eclipse Getaways Across New England (Kristi Palma, Boston.com)

There are also a ton of stories like this about why this year’s eclipse is a such a big deal.

Why the 2024 Eclipse Will be a Different Experience from 2017 (Ashley Strickland, CNN)

While there are plenty of information sources out there, my favorite one is good ol’ NASA.

They even made a trailer about this year’s event.

NASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA (Official Website)

NASA will be streaming the eclipse live April 8 From 1 to 4 p.m. EDT.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA (Official Broadcast, YouTube)

Here’s a link to their neat interactive website for finding out “where & when” it will happen.

2024 Total Eclipse: Where & When (NASA)

They also have a dedicated webpage for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, one for Eclipses in general and one with Safety Guidelines.

Now, you may or may not know, all of the fuss about people in the United States getting to see a total solar eclipse might be just a wee bit overblown. With all the hype about the tourism and special sun glasses, you may have missed a couple of stories pointing out that the event isn’t all that rare. Here’s one of those stories.

Total Eclipses Aren’t that Rare — and You’ve Probably Missed a Bunch of Them: They Happen About Once Every 18 Months (Sara Chodosh, Popular Science)

There is one group of people who know this well — they are the Umbraphiles, more commonly known as Eclipse Chasers. They are unique tribe, and their fascination with the celestial event tends to be described in terms well outside the realm of science.

Here’s a link to the article about them that actually inspired the title of this post.

Chasing Totality: A Look Into the World of Umbraphiles (Andy Wright, Atlas Obscura)

Better yet, here’s a talk by David Baron that may have single-handedly helped to increase the ranks of Umbraphiles over the last few years.

David Baron’s Talk (TEDxMileHigh)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (YouTube Playlist)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (Official Website)

So, one way or another, in real life if you’re lucky enough to be in a good place to see the eclipse, or online with NASA at YouTube, enjoy next Monday’s eclipse with safety and awe.

Then if you’re inclined to join the ranks of umbraphiles after that, here’s a handy list from Wikipedia that includes when and where future total solar eclipses will occur.

List of Solar Eclipses in the 21st Century

If you would like to become an Armchair-Umbraphile, then head on over to YouTube — there are a ton of 360° Videos of Solar Eclipses to enjoy anytime and anywhere.

Here are even more links that might be of interest to Umbraphiles.

History of Eclipses (Objectivity, YouTube)
Eclipses (National Solar Observatory)
Eclipses (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy)
Eclipses (Wolfram Alpha)

Finally, if you’re into really rare celestial events, then keep an eye out for a star to appear sometime between now and September. Here’s a NASA story about it that I tripped over while doing research for this post.

View Nova Explosion, New Star in Northern Crown (Beth Ridgeway, NASA)

Have a great week, and may your weather be great for viewing if you’re in the path!

Find out more about the Sun, Moon, Stars and the Universe in general …

Touch the Sun

~ mehopper

Remember how Icarus wanted to touch the Sun, but met his demise instead?

Well, scientists at NASA wanted to touch the Sun too, but unlike Icarus, they succeeded!

Better yet, they are beginning to share what they learned by doing it!

Before we get into all of that, let’s go back and start at the beginning.

NASA launched a robotic spacecraft called the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in 2018, and this video describes the probe’s audacious mission to “touch the Sun.”

NASA Goddard (YouTube Channel)
NASA Goddard (Official Website)

Then NASA posted this 360° video about the probe’s launch that was narrated by Nicola Fox (Project Scientist at that time and now Director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division).

NASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA (Official Website)

Since its launch, the probe has done a spectacular job of starting to achieve its scientific goals, and some of the first results were just released this week.

Here’s a quick teaser that NASA posted ahead of a press conference on Wednesday.

ScienceAtNASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA Science (Official Website)

This video summarizes the key discoveries that NASA shared at the press conference.

NASA Goddard (YouTube Channel)
NASA Goddard (Official Website)

Four articles about the results were also posted by the journal Nature ahead of their publication in the print edition on December 12th. This article introduces the articles and has links to them.
A step closer to the Sun’s secrets (Daniel Verscharen, Nature)

It’s awesome to know more about what makes that great glowing ball in the sky tick, but I also found myself a bit sad because the mission’s goals do not include sending back imagery for us Earthlings to enjoy. That means we still don’t know what it looks like to “touch the Sun.”

Perhaps it would look a bit like this 360° video of a simulation of the Sun that was posted by a hearty YouTuber way back in 2016.

Zproxy (YouTube Channel)

That was cathartic to watch, but of course it wouldn’t sound like that because there is no “sound” in space. The actual experience would also be way, way more visually stunning.

We can be certain of that because, while the Parker Solar Probe doesn’t capture imagery, there’s another NASA mission called the Solar Dynamics Observatory that does. It doesn’t capture 360° videos, but what it does capture is far more dynamic than the simulation.

Here’s a video that the Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on June 18, 2015. This isn’t exactly how it would look because it’s been colorized in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, but it still gives you a sense of the unbelievable majesty of the activity that you would see on the surface of our favorite star if you were able to go there in person.

NASA Goddard (YouTube Channel)
NASA Goddard (Official Website)

How beautiful was that?!?!

Kudos to the scientists and engineers at NASA for having the audacity to find ways to go where no one has gone before and for communicating to us what it’s like there, too!

If you want to learn more about the the rest of the Solar System, explore this Toy World!

Click the 360° image below to explore it, click the menu in the upper right for controls and click “i” buttons on/off for links to experiences. Use “portals” to visit otherToy Worlds.

You can also explore this Toy World on Kuula.

You can also choose your own adventure by clicking on the links below.

“Space”
Universe (Astronomical Instrument)
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon

Our Neighborhood
Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid

Find out more about the Sun@Cosma …