DeepSummary
Shadia Habbal, an astronomer and eclipse chaser, has been studying the sun's corona for nearly 30 years by observing total solar eclipses around the world. The corona is the outermost atmosphere of the sun, and it is extremely hot (over a million degrees) compared to the sun's surface. Understanding the corona is crucial for predicting solar storms that can disrupt power grids, communications, and satellites.
During a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun, the corona becomes visible. Shadia and her team use this opportunity to take special photographs and spectroscopic measurements of the corona's temperature, which helps them create models to explain the corona's extreme heat. However, the window of totality during an eclipse is very brief, and they have lost 40% of their observations due to clouds.
Despite the challenges, Shadia remains committed to chasing eclipses until she can no longer do so, as each eclipse provides new insights and raises new questions. While they have made progress in understanding the corona, they are still far from being able to reliably predict solar storms.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The sun's corona is extremely hot, over a million degrees, and understanding it is crucial for predicting solar storms that can disrupt modern technology on Earth.
- Shadia Habbal and her team have been chasing total solar eclipses around the world for nearly 30 years to study the corona's temperature and create models to explain its extreme heat.
- Observing the corona is only possible during the brief moments of totality during a solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun's bright surface.
- Clouds and weather conditions are a significant challenge, with Shadia's team losing 40% of their observations due to clouds.
- Despite the challenges, Shadia remains committed to chasing eclipses, as each new observation provides insights and raises new questions, advancing our understanding of the corona and solar storms.
- New methods, like flying a kite or using a high-altitude NASA aircraft, are being explored to overcome the challenges posed by clouds and atmospheric conditions.
- While progress has been made, scientists are still far from being able to reliably predict solar storms, which underscores the importance of continued research on the sun's corona.
- Shadia's passion and dedication to studying eclipses stem from the awe-inspiring and otherworldly experience of totality, which fuels her scientific curiosity.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “When it happens, it's like there's a sound of whoosh.“ by Shadia Habbal
- “Yes, we were very nervous, but it was the most exhilarating experience. It was like watching the Sputnik.“ by Shadia Habbal
- “We lost 40% of our observations to clouds.“ by Shadia Habbal
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4/3/24