IIA will reach out to sun when it’s eclipsed

The world is about to witness the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century on July 22. And the Indian scientific community is all excited as they get ready to conduct various experiments to answer the million dollar question—why is the sun’s outer atmosphere hotter than its surface?

Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, is leaving no stone unturned while preparing for the defining moment to answer this question. A team of 10 scientists will head for Anji in China where the duration of the eclipse will be the maximum, six minutes and 30 seconds.

Another team of six scientists will go to Patna to conduct experiments during the solar eclipse. The solar eclipse is expected to last three minutes and thirty seconds in India. This rare solar eclipse will provide a life time opportunity for the sky gazers to watch it with the naked eye.

The IIA in coordination with the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in Uttar Pradesh is planning to conduct experiments. Spectroscopy of the solar corona (atmosphere of sun which can be clearly seen during an eclipse) will be conducted. Mirrors will be used to obtain the image of corona to know about the medium or particle or the wave that heats up the outer atmosphere of the sun.

“This is an advanced technology. We will be using it for the first time to conduct the study,” said Siraj Hasan, the director of IIA. The team will study the phenomenon using photometry where telescopes will be used. “We are conducting a traditional study but this one could be a defining one because we have made a few observations during the previous solar eclipses in the country which can either be confirmed or refuted depending on the results of this experiment,” Hasan said.

The Vigyan Prasar of Delhi has joined hands with IIA to hire an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter trainer jet to follow the eclipse from a height of 40,000 feet. “It will be a two-seater. An astronomer will video record the lunar shadow which will later be used to study the phenomenon,” Hasan added.