The Glory of the Solar Corona as Revealed by Total Solar Eclipses
One of the most remarkable differences between looking at most images of Solar eclipses and seeing an eclipse with your own eyes is seeing the distance that the corona extends outward from the Sun. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, seeing the corona is also scientifically valuable and provides a rare and short-lived opportunity to investigate features of the Sun that are otherwise invisible, not only for our eyes but also for scientific instruments. Our speaker this month, Professor Shadia Habbal, is a scientific eclipse chaser who leverages these opportunities to deepen our understanding of the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field. Like all eclipse chasers, Professor Habbal's efforts can be thwarted by weather, and she and her team have pioneered approaches to mitigating these factors and squeeze every precious second of observation time from an eclipse. Monday's talk will be an opportunity to deepen your own understanding of the magnificent corona and increase your appreciation for it the next time you're fortunate enough to see a total Solar eclipse. Professor Habbal's description of her talk is below.
Total solar eclipses offer unique opportunities to explore the physical properties of the solar corona over an uninterrupted distance span of several solar radii starting from the solar surface. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of historical events associated with eclipses, including landmark discoveries that have ushered the astronomical community into space exploration. I will also cover examples of the trials and tribulations associated with eclipse expeditions, which have led to key discoveries from my team's imaging and spectroscopic observations.
About Professor Shadia Habbal
Prof. Shadia Habbal is a professor at the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii. She and her international team, the Solar Wind Sherpas, have been observing the corona during total solar eclipses since 1995. Their observations include multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy to probe and characterize the coronal plasmas, in particular the distribution of the million degrees electron temperature throughout the different coronal structures. Despite unfavorable weather conditions almost 40% of the time, she and her team have made some breakthrough discoveries. In 2023, her team explored the use of a kite for eclipse observations, a successful technology demonstration to fly above clouds when present. In 2024, they successfully flew imagers and spectrometers onboard the NASA WB57 research aircraft. In addition to her scientific work, she has also been serving as a scientific editor for the Astrophysical Journal since 2012.