Solar Eclipse Observations
--- Historical, recent and some new ones. ---

21 June 2017 by Aki Takeda (Research Scientist at MSU Dept.of Physics)

1. Introduction

Scale model of Earth - Moon - Sun system

diameter
(km | mile)
distance from Earth
(km | mile)
diameter & distance
in our model E.
Earth12,800 | 8,000--- 6 (cm) & -----
Moon3,480 | 2,200 380,000 | 240,000 1.6 (cm) & 6 (ft)
Sun 1,400,000 | 88,000 150,000,000 | 94,000,000 6.5 (m) & 0.44 (mile)

Solar Eclipse

Interestingly, when viewed from the Earth,
the apparent size of the Sun and Moon is almost the same!

Some facts:

2. Historical observations of TSEs

Eclipse prediction already existed in B.C. 2000 (China).
Scientific observations of TSEs started since 1842 (use of spectroscope).

Flash spectra : slit-less spectra at the starting/ending moment of the totality.

Test of general relativity

3. Components of the solar corona.

4. Recent observations

Even after the invention of coronagraph (1931, by B. Lyot), TSEs had been highly important opportunities to observe the corona due to their extremely low scattered light condition. Until 1990s when data from space became available, a TSE observation had been a big scientific project for worldwide astronomers.

4.1 Fine structures of innermost corona.

4.2 Coronal electron temperature and expanding velocity.

4.3 Exploration with new coronal lines.

their 2008 and 2009 observation.

5. 21st August 2017, TSE observations

6. Summary