The solar eclipse of 26 February 1979 - Introductory comments

Investigations undertaken during the total solar eclipse over North America on February 26, 1979, are reviewed, with a focus on rocket sounding of eclipse-induced atmospheric disturbances over Red Lake, Ontario. It is shown that the primary aim of the Red Lake experiments, the confirmation or correction of atmospheric-response models based on data from the 1966 and 1970 eclipses, could not be fully attained due to the low sun angle (maximum 26 deg) in the area of totality, a strong geomagnetic disturbance, a stratospheric warming, and a strong pulsating-particle event underway at the time of the eclipse. The value of the 1979 data is seen in improving current models of atmospheric response to particle-precipitation events.