Citizen CATE: Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse Experiment

PI: Matt Penn (National Solar Observatory, Tucson)Seven Co-Is: Mike Pierce (UW, Laramie)

(Wyoming Coordinator)

Total Solar Eclipse• Total Eclipse Requires

Near Perfect Alignment of the Earth, Moon & Sun

• Anyone Not on the Path of Totality Sees a Partial Eclipse

• Total Eclipse Reveals Sun’s Corona

• People Will Travel the Globe to See One

• Satellites Can Only Image the Outer Corona

• http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/bestofsoho/Movies/movies2.html

2017 Eclipse• First solar eclipse visible in continental US

since 1979 (38 years)• Eclipse path crosses homes of 10 million

people in the US– Several million expected to travel to the eclipse

path to see the event first-hand– 300 - 500 million people expected to see it either

first hand or on the internet• Potentially the single most-viewed

astronomical event in history• Unique opportunity for STEM outreach

Citizen CATE Concept

• Identical Telescopes & Video Cameras• Approximately 100 Sites Along Path• Volunteer Citizen Science Teams– Attend NSO REU Program for Training– State Coordinators Will Recruit & Train

• Each Team Acquires 2.5 Minutes of Video– Spliced into 90 min Continuous Sequence

• NSO Physicists Begin Analysis Corona

Eclipse Path & CATE Stations

CATE Prototype Telescope & Camera

• An 80-mm Refractor– Corporate Sponsorship

• Equatorial Mount & Drive• Point Grey High-res. CMOS

Camera • Solar Filter for Partial Phases• Laptop & Cell Phones– GPS Time-tags– Phone Upload of Video to Cloud

Prototype Testing

• First Test: 2015 Eclipse Faroe Islands

• Successful Test of Hardware & Software

• Upload via Cell Phones & Cloud Apps Under Development

• Four Prototypes Planned for Deployment for 2016 Indonesia Eclipse

Citizen CATE Pre-eclipse Activities

Sustainability

• Telescopes Donated to Jr./High Schools

• CATE Universities Will Develop & Share Future Project Ideas With School Mentors– Comets– Variable Stars– Astronomy Teaching Labs

• Goal to Integrate Activities Into Next Generation Science Standards

Possible Broader Impacts & Activities

• CATE Could Be Component of a Broader STEM Outreach Initiative

• Eclipse Web Pages– Resources & Contacts

• Planetarium Shows• Public Talks

– Promotion of Eclipse Event• Science Teacher Training Workshops• Eclipse Information Booths

– Free Flyers (Eclipse Event & Safety)– Water & Bathrooms– Free Pinhole Projection Boxes

• Resources & Sponsors

References

• CATE: https://sites.google.com/site/citizencateexperiment/• Southern Illinois Eclipse Page:http://eclipse.siu.edu/• NASA Eclipse Site:http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html• SOHO:http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/bestofsoho/Movies/movies2.html