There are many quotes about sunshine. Most relate the sun to behavioral characteristics of people, such as truthfulness, liveliness and positivity. A few quotes endeavor to describe the essence of what the sun provides – warmth and light.

For the earth and all living things on earth, it is the warmth and light which are the source of life. Perhaps it is that truth which fuels the fascination of people for solar eclipses.

April’s solar eclipse will provide a reminder of what would happen if that source of life was extinguished. For 3-4  minutes in the early afternoon of Monday, April 8, the moon will pass between the earth and the sun, casting a dark shadow onto the earth.

Much of Texas, including Wood County, falls in the path of totality, that path which is defined by a complete eclipse of the sun by the moon. 

Public information about the eclipse will logically focus on safety –  viewing safety and public safety. The multitude of people who may stream into town to observe the eclipse from within the path of totality would certainly cause public safety challenges.

The total eclipse will also afford an opportunity to consider the sun and how it is studied. A great place to start that investigation is the Earth and Space Science Center at Tyler Junior College. The showpiece of the center is the Hudnall Planetarium, a jewel of East Texas. 

In operation since 1963, the planetarium has hosted generations of schoolchildren. They were introduced to the heavens by peering up at the domed overhead projection of the planetarium. 

It is yet going strong. The planetarium underwent a complete renovation in 2010 and reopened a year later offering an immersive, full-dome experience. 

The program ‘Eclipse: The Sun Revealed’ is showing each day at 2 p.m. at Hudnall. The film touches on some of the myths regarding eclipses before presenting a visual explanation of the phenomenon. The program ends with some examples of the fascination that eclipses can hold for mankind.

The 28-minute program may pique one’s curiosity about just how the sun is studied. From the Hudnall Planetarium the next step on the tutorial would be NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Heliophysics Division. 

Heliophysics is the study of the sun and the sun’s effects in space, and on the solar system. The concepts at play in such considerations are awe-inspiring. 

At its core, heliophysics is a discipline which focuses on the concept that the structure of the universe is determined by the interplay between  gravity and magnetism. It is also a recent discipline.

The field of heliophysics was founded by NASA scientist Madhulika Guhathakurta, who in 2005 led NASA’s Living with a Star program. She sought to combine aspects of solar, heliospheric and space physics into an integrated field of study. 

While the founding of this field of study is beyond the scope of this article, the story of how it was founded through the opening of scientific summer school is fascinating in its own right. 

The lectures from the first (2006) summer school session were edited into five textbooks known as The Textbooks of Heliophysics series (I – V).

The practical side of heliophysics is the effect of the sun on the earth. Consideration of the solar weather created by the sun and ejected into the solar system is a key focus of study. Such interactions are increasing in frequency and severity as solar weather clashes with our earthly technological advances.  Examples include interactions with power grids, and interruptions of global positioning systems and communications systems. 

In efforts to monitor (and measure) the sun, a wide array of projects are undertaken by NASA.  There are some 30 missions actively collecting information on the sun. Among these missions are the Parker Solar Probe and the JAXA/NASA Sunrise satellite.

The Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 and is the first man-made object to reach the sun’s atmosphere, having reached the sun’s outer atmosphere – called the corona – in 2021. It is expected that the probe will complete 24 orbits of the sun at a range from the sun’s surface of 3.9 million miles (the earth is about 92 million miles from the sun). 

The Sunrise satellite was launched from Japan in 2006 as a joint venture between Japan, the U.S., the U.K. and the European Space Agency. It is in a sun-synchronous orbit around the earth. Sunrise employs a solar optical telescope, a spectrometer, and an X-ray telescope to study the solar wind, and to observe the sun in three wavelength ranges.

These missions measure characteristics of the sun and the solar weather created by the sun which are often difficult to comprehend. 

One doesn’t have to be a heliophysicist to get involved in monitoring the sun and its interactions with the earth. NASA sponsors over two dozen Citizen Science projects that contribute to the study. 

One such project is the Eclipse Soundscape Project.

The genesis of this project goes back to the solar eclipse of Aug. 31, 1932. A Massachusetts entomologist, William Wheeler, took advantage of being in the path of totality to organize a structured observation. Specifically, he enlisted the assistance of 498 game wardens, naturalists and the general public to report the behavior of animals before, during and immediately after the period of totality. 

The data was collected and published in a report in 1935 titled ‘Observations on the Behavior of Animals during the Total Solar Eclipse of August 31, 1932.’ The report is available on website JSTOR.

The Eclipse Soundscape Project is an effort to build on Wheeler’s work – as well as data collected during the eclipse of 2017 – by documenting visual observation and obtaining audio recordings before, during and after the event.

The audio aspect of this project is part of a burgeoning field of study focused exclusively on the sounds of nature. 

It is not too late to register as a volunteer observer/recorder with the Soundscape Project. NASA is always looking for research volunteers.