Collaborative Research: Probing Coronal Processes Through Three Total Solar Eclipses

A total solar eclipse offers a unique opportunity to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, where dynamic processes, including solar wind, originate. These dynamic processes impact the operations of satellites, power systems, and communications on Earth. The goal of this proposal is to leverage three upcoming total solar eclipses on 12 August 2026, 2 August 2027, and 22 July 2028, to advance understanding of coronal conditions that lead to extreme space weather events. The findings will have important implications for current space infrastructure and for future space exploration. The project will also provide hands-on research and training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through participation in eclipse observations, instrumentation, and data analysis. The goal of this project is to investigate the thermodynamics of the multi-thermal coronal plasmas with their associated magnetic field structures and to characterize the different manifestations of space weather events at their origins in the corona. The scope is to acquire high spatial resolution images and high spectral resolution data with a suite of state-of-the art imaging and spectroscopic instrumentation, developed and tested during the 2023 and 2024 total solar eclipses. Instrumentation will be enhanced with higher resolution imaging in white light and Fe XIV emission line to explore the thermodynamic properties of dynamic events, such as turbulence, plasma instabilities and coronal mass ejections. Imaging spectrometers will also be improved with new filters to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio enabling more precise measurements of ionic temperatures and Doppler shifts from the most dominant Fe emission lines in the corona, such as Fe X and Fe XIV. Instrumentation will be deployed at multiple observing sites along the path of totality for all three eclipses. These three eclipses coincide with the declining and minimum phases of Solar Cycle 25. As such they will offer unparalleled benchmarks for magnetohydrodynamic simulations and turbulence-driven models of the corona and solar wind. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2602402 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Shadia Habbal | Institution: University of Hawaii, HONOLULU, HI | Award Amount: $519,030 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2602402 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2602402.html