Day will turn into night across a swathe of northern Spain on Aug 12, when the Moon will cover the Sun during a rare total solar eclipse.
Scientists are preparing to use a rare total solar eclipse visible from Spain next week as a unique opportunity to investigate the Sun’s powerful and unpredictable activity.
When the Moon completely blocks the Sun on Aug. 12, researchers will study the star’s magnetic field, atmosphere and violent solar weather, which can sometimes disrupt life and technology on Earth.
Total solar eclipses have helped scientists make major discoveries throughout history. During a 1919 eclipse observed from the West African island of Principe, British astronomer Arthur Eddington confirmed Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity by studying how the Sun’s gravity bent the light of distant stars.
More than a century later, scientists will again turn their attention to the Sun during a total eclipse that will last one minute and 40 seconds over northern Spain.
“Our work aims to understand the physical mechanisms underlying the Sun’s activity,” Allan Sacha Brun, an astrophysicist at France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), told AFP.
Researchers are particularly interested in the Sun’s corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere. Although the corona extends millions of kilometers into space, it is much fainter than the Sun’s surface, making it difficult to observe under normal conditions.
During a total eclipse, however, the Moon blocks the bright surface of the Sun, allowing scientists to examine the corona and another atmospheric layer called the chromosphere.
The Sun constantly releases streams of charged particles and matter. At times, it produces powerful solar storms that send huge clouds of plasma toward Earth. When these particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they can interfere with satellites, pose risks to astronauts and create spectacular auroras near the poles.
“These phenomena follow a regular cycle, peaking every 11 years,” Brun said, adding that the Sun reached the peak of its 25th cycle in 2024.
Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) will also use the eclipse to improve their understanding of solar winds and how solar storms develop.
