What research is going on during the Great American Eclipse?
Yes, researchers will be looking at the sun’s corona during the eclipse, but others will be looking at bacteria, birds, and even orangutans.
Vocabulary: solar eclipse, observation, totality, natural phenomenon
Next Generation Science Standards: ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars, ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System, SEP3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, CC1: Patterns, and CC2: Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Explanation.
Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9–10.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11–12.2
While many of us have been learning about the Great American Eclipse over the past few months, others have been preparing for this spectacular phenomenon for years. Scientists focusing on all kinds of disciplines, from solar science to animal behavior, have been planning experiments that will be conducted in the brief minutes of totality.
“For the scientist getting ready to capture these short moments, it can be very hectic and stressful,” says Shadia Habbal, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii who has seen over 10 eclipses and been preparing for the 2017 eclipse for three years. “The event cannot wait for you to be ready.”
A lot is riding on just a few minutes of darkness. Some projects involve hundreds of team members, networks of institutions, complicated technology setups and feats, and dozens of site locations along the path of totality.
“This is just an amazing opportunity for all of us to be scientists in a way, to be curious about this crazy natural phenomenon that’s happening,” says Angela Des Jardins, a physics professor at Montana State University.
From chasing the eclipse with refitted bomber planes to carefully watching zoo animals’ reactions, here are just some of the things scientists are hoping to do under the shade of the eclipse.
We suggest that you break this article up and assign a group of students to read each researcher and share their finding with the class (jigsaw method). To help facilitate classroom this, the article was broken out into individual stories in the printable version here.
Questions
For each researcher featured in the article, have students answer the following questions.
- What are these researchers hoping to learn during the solar eclipse?
- How are the researchers collecting data during the eclipse?
- What inspired the researcher to study this particular question?
- Each story is accompanied by an illustration that was created by an artist after reading the story. Why do you think the artist chose to represent the story with that illustration?
Activity Suggestions
- Don’t have eclipse glasses? No problem. Create five different solar viewers and watch a projection of the eclipse on the ground or your wall. Discuss the rarity of this event with your students using our illustrated eclipse guide and this awesome video about the eclipse.
- Have an eclipse party! Learn about absolute versus apparent size and have your students create an eclipse of their own.
Additional Resources
Check out Science Friday’s spotlight on the Great American Eclipse for more articles, interviews, and resources.
