A group of researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have achieved a significant milestone by capturing the October 14 solar eclipse in an unprecedented manner. They have produced the first-ever radio images of an annular eclipse, showcasing the famous "ring of fire" effect.
Capturing the Ring of Fire
While the eclipse was partially observable across a large portion of the continental US, the complete "ring of fire" phenomenon was only visible for less than five minutes in its 125-mile-wide path of annularity.
The novel observations of the radio sun's eclipse, which lasted over an hour, provide a prolonged and striking view of the eclipse's distinctive ring, thanks to the extended solar corona visible at radio wavelengths.
These observations were made possible through the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA) in California, a recently commissioned facility.
Dale Gary, a distinguished professor of physics and co-investigator on the OVRO-LWA project, expressed his excitement, saying, "To finally see a 'ring of fire' eclipse this way was spectacular ... we haven't seen this quality of radio imaging of the Sun before."
Bin Chen, an associate professor of physics at NJIT-CSTR, led the data reduction and processing efforts, along with researchers Surajit Mondal and Sijie Yu. Chen highlighted the scientific significance of this achievement, emphasizing the opportunity it provides to study the sun's extended corona with unparalleled resolution.
OVRO-LWA, a collaborative initiative led by Gregg Hallinan at the California Institute of Technology, utilized a network of 352 antennas to sample a wide range of radio wavelengths.
This facility offers the highest-quality images of the radio sun in this wavelength range, which is approximately twice the size of the visible solar disk.
Gregg Hallinan underscored the significance of documenting this extraordinary event, affirming OVRO-LWA's successful operation as a cutting-edge radio facility for solar and celestial research.
The subsequent annular solar eclipse is projected to occur in South America in October 2024, and US observers must await the next domestic "ring of fire" eclipse until June 2039. Nevertheless, as noted by the researchers, a total eclipse will be observable across the central US in April.
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The Awaited Solar Maximum
The recent eclipse event was a remarkable testament to the early observations conducted with the instrument by the NJIT-CSTR team.
The team noted that the enhanced capabilities of OVRO-LWA were on track to unveil more exhilarating discoveries, especially as solar activity was anticipated to crest in 2025 during the awaited "solar maximum."
Chen said, "We are now working on an automated data processing pipeline that will soon produce near-real-time solar images and make them available to the public."
"These eclipse images serve as a proof-of-concept for this effort. The unprecedented data products coming soon will open new opportunities for discovery in solar astronomy and space weather studies," he added.
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