The December 4, 2002 Total Solar Eclipse in Angola
A team of scientists and engineers from the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
(CNRS) and from other Labs, including some representatives from Russia, Portugal,
Germany, Iran, Swiss, Algeria, Tchequie and Brazil, will collaborate with the
University A. Neto of Luanda and the Angolan Minister of Science and Technology
to permit a good coverage of the Total Solar Eclipse event of Dec. 4, 2002.
Observations will be made from 2 groundbased sites and from a specially prepared
CASA type aircraft (through the open side-door). The scientific program of observations
includes, besides the usual W-L imaging at different resolutions, colors and
linear polarisation , some new experiments aimed at
- analyzing the chromospheric prolateness (ovalisation) discovered a few
years ago by comparing solar limb images taken simultaneously from space (EIT
of SoHO) and from ground (SacPeak Obs. and Pic du Midi Obs.);
- measuring the direction of the coronal magnetic field using linear polarisation
measurements of the green FeXIV line to look again at the surprisingly quasi-radial
direction of the field in the inner corona. The rather reduced value of the
magnitude of the eclipse (less than 1.01) makes it particularly suitable for
the study of the chromosphere and the TR. Several "in phase" EIT
and Lasco spaceborne observations will be simultaneously collected from SoHO
and possibly from Trace and Coronas as well as from groundbased Observatory
at Pic du Midi and NSO/Sacramento Peak, for ex.
An important accompanying educational program has also been defined to make the
event significant and useful for the Public. An international Symposium on "Astronomy,
Scientific Education and Culture", sponsored by the French Cooperation in
Angola and other government Angolan sponsors, will take place in Luanda before
the eclipse. Papers like the "Legendary discovery of the solar corona",
"Space weather: A New Field in Science", "From the Sun to the limit
of the Universe" or "The contribution to Science of the Persian Culture"
etc. will be presented. Finally, a scientific movies Festival is organized immediately
after the day of the eclipse, thanks to CNRS. Historical movies (like the famous
"Flammes du Soleil" from the Lyot prominence observations and the more
recent US movie "Eclipse of the Century") as well as the latest movies
on the Sun, on Astroparticules and Cosmology and more movies on the "Life"
, biology, medecine etc., will be shown.
Paris, Nov. 26, 2002
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris- CNRS
98 Bis Bd Arago Paris F-75014 (France)
Fax: XX (33) 1 44 32 8001
Phone: XX (33) 1 44 32 8056