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

日全食是一种令人敬畏的天文现象，对目击者产生了深远的影响。该项目资助2024年4月8日日全食期间日冕辐射可见光（VIS）和近红外（NIR）部分的成像和光谱观测。观测将探测太阳日冕最关键的空间范围，日冕横跨太阳表面至几个太阳半径（Rs）。整个美国日全食路径的观测点将被选择进行20分钟的连续观测。夏威夷大学的研究生和本科生将参加热带风暴观测，并在观测地点与当地社区接触，进行外联活动。这个项目是为了响应NSF致同事信23-014:2023和2024年的美国日食。由于日冕等离子体和磁场之间的复杂耦合，目前在tse期间的遥感宽带、窄带和光谱成像是探索产生复杂日冕结构的潜在物理过程的唯一工具。这些过程还产生了超过6000 K表面温度的陡峭温度梯度，这是导致日冕以太阳风形式膨胀的原因。通过观测日冕等离子体的散射、碰撞和光激发、可见光和近红外波长范围内的离子束的宽带可见和选择性发射，可以推断出等离子体的性质，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。预计将与太阳活动的最大值相吻合，2024年TSE上分布在数千公里范围内的多个观测点的仪器运行将进一步提供主要由日全食爆发引发的动态事件的热力学特征，如喷流、波、湍流和日冕物质抛射（cme）。在2024年日全食期间，多个观测地点的可及性、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一个绝佳的机会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.