During the total solar eclipse on Monday, when the moon will temporarily obscure the sun’s face from view for millions of people across Mexico, the United States and Canada, multiple experiments will be underway to better understand some of the biggest unresolved questions about the golden orb.
NASA will launch sounding rockets and WB-57 high-altitude planes to conduct research on aspects of the sun and Earth that‘s only possible during an eclipse. The efforts are part of a long history of attempts to gather invaluable data and observations when the moon temporarily blocks the sun’s light.
One of the most famous scientific milestones connected to an eclipse occurred on 29 May 1919, when a total solar eclipse provided evidence for Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Einstein had suggested gravity is the result of the warping of time and space, distorting the very fabric of the universe. As an example, Einstein proposed that the gravitational influence of a large object like the sun could deflect light emitted by another object, such as a star virtually behind it, causing the object to appear a bit farther away from the perspective of Earth.
A science expedition to observe stars from Brazil and West Africa, led by English astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington during the 1919 eclipse, revealed that some stars indeed appeared to be in the wrong place, validating Einstein’s theory. The finding is just one of many scientific lessons learned in relation to eclipses.
And during the eclipse on 8 April, citizen scientists and teams of researchers could make new discoveries that potentially advance our understanding about our corner of the universe.
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