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VT Scientists Study the Eclipse Like Never Before

Associated Press

A lot has changed since the last time a total solar eclipse was visible in the U.S.  One swept across the whole country, as next Monday’s will, in 1918. The only other one in that century was visible in just some parts of the country. That was in 1979.  Back then, all that most people could do, was watch in awe. But this time, it’s different.         

Today scientists have tools to study a total solar eclipse that didn’t exist in 1918 or even 1979.

Greg Earle teaches electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. “We really got lucky because the eclipse is going to cut right across the field of view of both of those," Earle says. "We didn’t have the same GPS network not everyone had a camera in their pocket we’ve got so much more technology that we can pull in more data than ever before.”

So, on the big day his students will be stationed along the narrow band of totality, that will sweep from the country’s west coast to the east. They’ll record data as day appears to turn to night, with equipment designed especially for that purpose. There are no ‘do overs’ in an eclipse.  You have to be ready.

“So, the whole thing is less than 2 hours and totally is basically a couple of minutes so to be ready for that it’s taken us 2 years and after this is over we’ll spend another year and a half analyzing the data,” Earle explained.

Earle says Monday’s eclipse is sort of  like a chance, temporarily, to shut down the sun and get a good look at what’s going on in the upper atmosphere. Normally, the sun’s rays block or refracts radio signals. So, with it 'off line' so to speak, scientists will be able to bounce radio signals up there to take more accurate measurements.

“So, it’s almost like we’re using these radio signals as an x-ray and we’re looking for an effect like a physician would use an x-ray to see if your ankle’s broken. We’re doing an x-ray of the upper atmosphere to see what it does when the eclipse happens.”

They want to study the effects on new devices invented by humans since the last time the moon blocked out the sun over this country. .. Like things that use Global Positioning Systems technology.  Earle will be watching to see the effect on certain highly sensitive instruments up there, but he does not expect a problem with your GPS navigator.

“Nobody’s going to ride off a cliff because their GPS failed during the eclipse," Earle joked. "It’s not a life-threatening thing. But there are effects, so for systems that do high reliability position sensing using GPS, they will see larger errors during the eclipse because of delays introduced into the signal coming from the satellite will be different when they are passing through an eclipse region than when they are passing through a sun lit region.”

In the absence of light, radio waves can travel farther.  That’s why it’s easier to hear a.m. radio at night sometimes many hundreds of miles away.  It’s also an opportunity for ham radio enthusiasts.  During the eclipse, they’ll be able ‘connect with others farther away than normal.  “The entire ham radio community has been invited to participate in a contest where as many as are available can get on air and try to make contact with one another, and we can analyze that data; who talked to whom and over what distance and frequency.”

So, this time, not only are there more tools to study a total solar eclipse, there are also more citizen scientists ready to contribute their findings. And that means a better understanding of this mysterious and fortunately, predictable celestial event.

Robbie Harris is based in Blacksburg, covering the New River Valley and southwestern Virginia.