9/5/24 Matt Penn of the National Solar Obs.

Date: 9/5/24

Where: Zoom

Speaker: Dr. Matt Penn

Topic: The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative, solar observing and citizen science.

Abstract:

With support from the National Science Foundation and other sources, the Citizen CATE Experiment recruited hundreds of scientists, students and volunteers to track the Sun along the path of totality with 68 identical telescopes, software and instrument packages. Collectively, the 68 sites produced more than 4,000 images, some of which the NSO researchers used to compile the first-look video.

“This dataset is extraordinary,” said Dr. Matt Penn, the Principal Investigator for the project. “Normally during a solar eclipse, we get about 2 minutes of data in the region closest to the photosphere [solar surface]. But Citizen CATE allowed us to get an hour and a half of data.”

Additional Items:

• Member observing reports.

• Election of Officers.

• Russ Pinozzotto's Constellation Tour

• Pre-meeting social time starts at 6:30pm.