Scientists study China eclipse

Bengaluru, July 22: Scientists from the city-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) are using the longest solar eclipse of the century to study elements present in the various layers of the sun in China where the eclipse was declared total.

The July 22 eclipse has been hailed by a team of IIA scientists as a good one for conducting research and they lost no opportunity in making the best use of it. The team that included director S.S. Hassan set camp at Anji, a small hilly area in the Shanghai province of China and relayed information about the eclipse, which lasted 5 minutes and 38 seconds, to Bengaluru.

The objective of the research is primarily to study the elements present in the various layers of the sun through two processes termed as spectroscopy and photometry, said Dr Ebenezer of IIA.

“Images taken will provide information on the materials present in the corona (a type of plasma “atmosphere” that extend millions of kilometers into space) apart from the various atmospheric layers of the sun. We are also trying to understand the transport mechanism of elements in the transitional layer that exists between the photosphere and corona, the temperature for which is anywhere between 6000 Kelvin to one million Kelvin (almost the same value in degree Celsius),” explained Dr Ebenezer.

Trying to understand the various modes of oscillation of the corona is also underway.

A total solar eclipse is significant to the scientific community as it allows an opportunity to take a closer look of the sun.

“The duration of the totality over the Pacific Ocean was six- and-a-half minutes. Across India it was only about 3-4 minutes. But an annular solar eclipse, similar to that of a total one, is expected to occur in Jan 2010 and that will be a spectacular view for people in South India,” said Prof C. S. Shukre, director of Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium.

“Many significant scientific discoveries have been credited to the total solar eclipse such as Einstein’s theory of relativity and the presence of helium on the sun. There are several gases and materials present in the sun's atmosphere that allow scientists to probe,” said Sunil Kunar, curator of Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum.