1
00:00:09,990 --> 00:00:07,909
total eclipse of the sun presented by

2
00:00:11,509 --> 00:00:10,000
science at nasa

3
00:00:13,509 --> 00:00:11,519
people from around the world are

4
00:00:15,190 --> 00:00:13,519
converging on the coast of northeast

5
00:00:16,950 --> 00:00:15,200
australia

6
00:00:19,750 --> 00:00:16,960
the attraction isn't the great barrier

7
00:00:22,390 --> 00:00:19,760
reef just offshore or the surrounding

8
00:00:23,830 --> 00:00:22,400
rain forest full of wildlife and exotic

9
00:00:25,910 --> 00:00:23,840
plants

10
00:00:27,750 --> 00:00:25,920
they're going to see a total eclipse of

11
00:00:29,830 --> 00:00:27,760
the sun

12
00:00:31,349 --> 00:00:29,840
on the morning of november 14th

13
00:00:34,069 --> 00:00:31,359
australia time

14
00:00:36,709 --> 00:00:34,079
just after sunrise the moon will pass

15
00:00:38,630 --> 00:00:36,719
directly in front of the sun

16
00:00:39,670 --> 00:00:38,640
residents and visitors of the city of

17
00:00:41,430 --> 00:00:39,680
cairns

18
00:00:44,150 --> 00:00:41,440
also known as the gateway to the great

19
00:00:46,950 --> 00:00:44,160
barrier reef will enjoy an early morning

20
00:00:48,869 --> 00:00:46,960
eclipse lasting two minutes with the sun

21
00:00:51,189 --> 00:00:48,879
only 14 degrees above the eastern

22
00:00:53,830 --> 00:00:51,199
horizon

23
00:00:56,229 --> 00:00:53,840
nasa eclipse expert fred espinac has a

24
00:00:58,389 --> 00:00:56,239
rating system for natural wonders

25
00:01:00,790 --> 00:00:58,399
on a scale of one to ten he says

26
00:01:03,029 --> 00:01:00,800
total eclipses are a million

27
00:01:05,509 --> 00:01:03,039
even the reef itself will be momentarily

28
00:01:07,830 --> 00:01:05,519
forgotten by onlookers as the moon's

29
00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:07,840
cool shadow sweeps across the beach and

30
00:01:12,630 --> 00:01:10,080
the ghostly tendrils of the solar corona

31
00:01:14,230 --> 00:01:12,640
surround the black lunar disk

32
00:01:15,510 --> 00:01:14,240
but there's more to this event than

33
00:01:18,070 --> 00:01:15,520
tourism

34
00:01:20,149 --> 00:01:18,080
scientists are attending too

35
00:01:22,469 --> 00:01:20,159
for researchers the brief minutes of

36
00:01:24,870 --> 00:01:22,479
totality offer a window into one of the

37
00:01:27,429 --> 00:01:24,880
deepest mysteries of solar physics the

38
00:01:29,670 --> 00:01:27,439
mystery of coronal heating

39
00:01:32,789 --> 00:01:29,680
in plain language they'd like to know

40
00:01:34,469 --> 00:01:32,799
why the sun's outer atmosphere or corona

41
00:01:36,310 --> 00:01:34,479
is so hot

42
00:01:39,030 --> 00:01:36,320
the surface temperature of the sun is

43
00:01:41,830 --> 00:01:39,040
only 6000 degrees celsius

44
00:01:45,270 --> 00:01:41,840
yet the corona above it is much warmer a

45
00:01:47,429 --> 00:01:45,280
million degrees celsius or even more

46
00:01:49,350 --> 00:01:47,439
to understand the physics involved

47
00:01:51,590 --> 00:01:49,360
astronomers have developed instruments

48
00:01:53,429 --> 00:01:51,600
called coronagraphs which block the

49
00:01:54,870 --> 00:01:53,439
glare of the sun to reveal the faint

50
00:01:57,590 --> 00:01:54,880
corona

51
00:02:00,230 --> 00:01:57,600
three spacecraft soho and the twin

52
00:02:03,270 --> 00:02:00,240
stereo probes currently monitor the

53
00:02:05,350 --> 00:02:03,280
solar corona using these devices

54
00:02:07,350 --> 00:02:05,360
but no man-made instrument can match

55
00:02:08,790 --> 00:02:07,360
earth's natural satellite

56
00:02:10,630 --> 00:02:08,800
the moon is nature's greatest

57
00:02:12,869 --> 00:02:10,640
coronagraph

58
00:02:14,949 --> 00:02:12,879
during an eclipse the moon reveals the

59
00:02:17,190 --> 00:02:14,959
innermost corona which man-made

60
00:02:19,670 --> 00:02:17,200
coronagraphs have trouble seeing

61
00:02:21,830 --> 00:02:19,680
explains shadia habal of the institute

62
00:02:23,830 --> 00:02:21,840
for astronomy in hawaii

63
00:02:26,070 --> 00:02:23,840
that is where all the magnetic field and

64
00:02:28,309 --> 00:02:26,080
physical processes responsible for

65
00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:28,319
heating the corona are evolving most

66
00:02:32,309 --> 00:02:29,760
rapidly

67
00:02:34,790 --> 00:02:32,319
on november 12th haba will be in palm

68
00:02:37,270 --> 00:02:34,800
cove australia to deliver a keynote

69
00:02:39,350 --> 00:02:37,280
speech at a solar physics conference

70
00:02:41,110 --> 00:02:39,360
sponsored in part by nasa's living with

71
00:02:43,589 --> 00:02:41,120
a star program

72
00:02:46,309 --> 00:02:43,599
the title of her talk is the unique

73
00:02:48,630 --> 00:02:46,319
scientific advantages of total solar

74
00:02:50,869 --> 00:02:48,640
eclipse observations

75
00:02:53,190 --> 00:02:50,879
two days later habal and her colleagues

76
00:02:55,270 --> 00:02:53,200
will be inside the path of totality

77
00:02:57,750 --> 00:02:55,280
monitoring the eclipse with a variety of

78
00:02:59,589 --> 00:02:57,760
telescopes and spectrometers at six

79
00:03:00,949 --> 00:02:59,599
different wavelengths from two different

80
00:03:03,509 --> 00:03:00,959
sites

81
00:03:04,710 --> 00:03:03,519
williams college astronomy professor jay

82
00:03:07,030 --> 00:03:04,720
pasikov

83
00:03:09,110 --> 00:03:07,040
chair of the international astronomical

84
00:03:10,550 --> 00:03:09,120
union's working group on eclipses will

85
00:03:13,509 --> 00:03:10,560
be there too

86
00:03:14,710 --> 00:03:13,519
he has observed an astounding 55 solar

87
00:03:17,270 --> 00:03:14,720
eclipses

88
00:03:18,949 --> 00:03:17,280
the australia eclipse will be my 56th he

89
00:03:21,350 --> 00:03:18,959
notes

90
00:03:23,110 --> 00:03:21,360
over the years pasakoff and colleagues

91
00:03:25,430 --> 00:03:23,120
have developed techniques to photograph

92
00:03:27,430 --> 00:03:25,440
the corona with clarity and resolution

93
00:03:29,350 --> 00:03:27,440
that coronagraphs on current spacecraft

94
00:03:31,750 --> 00:03:29,360
cannot match

95
00:03:33,830 --> 00:03:31,760
using these techniques we are learning

96
00:03:36,070 --> 00:03:33,840
how the wonderfully detailed structures

97
00:03:39,589 --> 00:03:36,080
we see in the corona are shaped by the

98
00:03:42,229 --> 00:03:39,599
sun's magnetic field he explains

99
00:03:45,589 --> 00:03:42,239
the shapes vary in a regular way during

100
00:03:47,830 --> 00:03:45,599
the sun's 11-year sunspot cycle

101
00:03:50,710 --> 00:03:47,840
we can use this information to improve

102
00:03:52,550 --> 00:03:50,720
predictions of the next solar cycle

103
00:03:54,470 --> 00:03:52,560
that's a lot of science in two minutes

104
00:03:57,110 --> 00:03:54,480
of shadowy darkness

105
00:03:59,030 --> 00:03:57,120
after totality is over the moon's shadow

106
00:04:01,589 --> 00:03:59,040
will sweep out across the south pacific

107
00:04:04,070 --> 00:04:01,599
ocean tracing a line thousands of miles

108
00:04:06,550 --> 00:04:04,080
long across uninhabited waters

109
00:04:08,229 --> 00:04:06,560
reaching almost but not quite the coast

110
00:04:10,309 --> 00:04:08,239
of south america

111
00:04:12,470 --> 00:04:10,319
back on the beach scientists will be

112
00:04:14,390 --> 00:04:12,480
taking a first look at their data while

113
00:04:16,390 --> 00:04:14,400
tourists start thinking about breakfast

114
00:04:18,390 --> 00:04:16,400
and snorkeling in the reef

115
00:04:19,990 --> 00:04:18,400
for all concerned it's a great way to

116
00:04:21,909 --> 00:04:20,000
begin the day

117
00:04:24,710 --> 00:04:21,919
for more information about the eclipse