Harnessing the Unique Science, Education and Outreach Opportunities of the 8 April 2024 Great American Total Solar Eclipse

利用 2024 年 4 月 8 日美国日全食的独特科学、教育和推广机会

• 批准号: 2313853
• 负责人: Shadia Habbal
• 金额: $ 82.13万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2313853&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Harnessing; Unique; Science; Education; Outreach

Total solar eclipses are awe-inspiring astronomical events with profound impact on those who witness them. This project funds imaging and spectroscopic observations in the visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) part of the coronal emission during the 8 April 2024 total solar eclipse (TSEs). The observations will probe the most critical spatial extent of the solar corona spanning the solar surface out to several solar radii (Rs). Observing sites across the US path of totality will be selected to acquire 20 minutes of continuous observations. Graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Hawaii will participate in TSE observations and engage with local communities at the observing sites for outreach. This project is in response to NSF Dear Colleague Letter 23-014: Great American Solar Eclipses 2023 and 2024.Remote sensing broadband, narrowband and spectroscopic imaging during TSEs are currently the only tools for exploring the underlying physical processes responsible for producing complex coronal structures due to the intricate coupling between coronal plasmas and magnetic fields. These processes also produce the steep temperature gradient beyond the 6000 K surface temperature which is responsible for coronal expansion in the form of the solar wind. Inferences of plasma properties from observations of coronal emission resulting from scattering, collisions and photo-excitation, the broadband visible and select emission from ions at discrete wavelengths in the VIS and NIR wavelength range include the elemental and ionic composition of coronal plasmas, species temperatures, densities, outflow velocities and non-thermal motions. Predicted to coincide with a maximum in solar activity, operation of the instrumentation at the 2024 TSE from multiple observing sites spread across a few thousand km will further provide the thermodynamic characteristics of dynamic events, such as jets, waves, turbulence and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), triggered primarily by erupting prominences. The accessibility, duration and availability of multiple observing sites during the 2024 total solar eclipse will not only provide invaluable scientific data but will also offer an outstanding opportunity for education and public outreach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

日全食是令人惊叹的天文事件，对目睹它们的人产生深远的影响。该项目资助 2024 年 4 月 8 日日全食 (TSE) 期间日冕发射的可见光 (VIS) 和近红外 (NIR) 部分的成像和光谱观测。这些观测将探测日冕最关键的空间范围，跨越太阳表面几个太阳半径（Rs）。将选择美国全食路径上的观测地点来获取 20 分钟的连续观测。夏威夷大学的研究生和本科生将参加 TSE 观测，并与观测地点的当地社区进行交流。该项目是对 NSF 亲爱同事的信函 23-014 的回应：2023 年和 2024 年美国大日食。由于日冕等离子体和磁场之间的复杂耦合，TSE 期间的遥感宽带、窄带和光谱成像是目前探索负责产生复杂日冕结构的潜在物理过程的唯一工具。这些过程还会产生超过 6000 K 表面温度的陡峭温度梯度，这导致日冕以太阳风的形式膨胀。通过观察散射、碰撞和光激发产生的日冕发射、可见光和近红外波长范围内离散波长离子的宽带可见光和选择发射来推断等离子体特性，包括日冕等离子体的元素和离子组成、物质温度、密度、流出速度和非热运动。预计 2024 年 TSE 的仪器将在数千公里范围内的多个观测点运行，届时太阳活动将达到最大值，这将进一步提供主要由日珥喷发引发的动态事件的热力学特征，例如喷流、波浪、湍流和日冕物质抛射 (CME)。 2024 年日全食期间多个观测地点的可达性、持续时间和可用性不仅将提供宝贵的科学数据，还将为教育和公众宣传提供绝佳的机会。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。