GLOBE Eclipse: Citizen Scientist Measurements of Atmospheric Changes during Astronomical Events

Energy from the Sun warms our planet, and changes in sunlight can also cause changes in temperature, clouds, and wind. What happens when the Sun is blocked by the Moon during an eclipse? How will the eclipse affect these solar-powered processes? The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program invites the general public to become citizen scientists and collect cloud and temperature observations during these astronomical events using the GLOBE Observer app. Before major solar eclipses, the special, limited-time Eclipse tool is added to the app to allow citizen scientists to submit air temperature data along with cloud observations. The Eclipse tool calculates the time of maximum obscuration based on the participant’s latitude and longitude, and provides reminders for taking cloud and air temperature observations during the eclipse. The tool graphs air temperature and total cloud cover percentage as entered by the participant during the eclipse. The GLOBE Observer website contains a library of resources in English and in Spanish filled with tips and tricks, as well as hands-on activities, and datasets collected during past eclipses. The GLOBE eclipse tool was first released during the total solar eclipse over North America on 21 August 2017. More than 10,000 participants collected over 20,000 cloud observations with 60,000 sky photographs and 80,000 air temperature measurements. The data has been used to study the relationship between the drop in air temperature within the path of totality and total cloud cover.

This presentation will step through the Eclipse tool within The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer app, review the resource library, and review the data from the total solar eclipse on 21 August 2017, the annular eclipse on 14 October 2023, and preliminary results of the total solar eclipse on 8 April, 2024.