Comparing Coronal Structure Predictions to CATE Eclipse Observations
Abstract
The total solar eclipse of the sun on 21 August 2017 crossed the entire continental United States, giving the opportunity for millions of people to see this spectacular celestial event. The Citizen Continental America Telescopic Eclipse Experiment, or Citizen CATE, captured roughly 90 minutes of totality data from 62 identical setups along the path. Prior to the eclipse, the appearance of the corona was predicted using images from ground and satellite telescopes. The size of the coronal holes on the surface of the sun and the polar plumes extending out into the corona have been examined to predict the features in the corona during totality. By looking at trends in large-scale features, such as streamers, and long-lasting features, such as coronal holes, the atmosphere of the sun can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. This prediction is then compared to other forecast models and what was captured on eclipse day. This experiment imaged the total solar eclipse in 2016 and developed a prediction method extrapolating from the data gathered in Indonesia. The same prediction method was used to forecast the structures expected in the corona on 21 August 2017.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231
- Pub Date:
- January 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AAS...23124205K