A solar eclipse is more than a spectacular sight in the sky\u2014it also provides scientists with an opportunity to study how the atmosphere responds when sunlight is temporarily blocked.<\/p>\n
Dr. David Horne, PhD, an associate professor of physics at Gannon University, explained that a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking sunlight from our perspective.<\/p>\n
For anyone viewing a solar eclipse, Horne stressed the importance of protecting your eyes with ISO-approved eclipse glasses or lenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are using binoculars, you’re using telescopes, make sure if you are looking at the sun that you’ve got approved solar filters on those,\u201d Horne said.<\/p>\n
He recommends using Mylar solar filters and making sure they are securely attached before looking toward the sun. Horne also advises testing eclipse-viewing equipment before using it.<\/p>\n
Solar eclipses give scientists a chance to observe changes in the atmosphere. Researchers can monitor factors like humidity, wind speed and direction, and temperature to better understand how the atmosphere reacts when the sun is completely blocked.<\/p>\n
Horne has invented devices to help collect that data. After developing the equipment for the 2024 solar eclipse in Erie, he has sent the devices to three locations in Spain, where they will be used to measure atmospheric effects during eclipse events.<\/p>\n
Horne said he hopes the equipment can be used during upcoming eclipses in Egypt and Australia, allowing him to continue collecting data even when he is not physically present.<\/p>\n
A lunar eclipse is expected on the night of Aug. 26 and will be visible around midnight. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye. This lunar eclipse is expected to take on a reddish appearance as it passes through Earth’s shadow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A solar eclipse is more than a spectacular sight in the sky\u2014it also provides scientists with an opportunity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[16709,111501,136,138,137,90293,9677,296,139],"class_list":["post-264270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-astronomy","tag-eclipse-glasses","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news","tag-gannon","tag-gannon-university","tag-local","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}