10:00 AM | *The next “Great American” total solar eclipse is less than two years away…timing of the current solar cycle may be just right for studying the corona* — Arcfield Weather

The current solar cycle, #25, began in late 2020 and it is on an upswing in activity with several sunspots visible at this time. The expected solar maximum phase of cycle 25 may actually turn out to be very advantageous for scientists to study the corona during the April 2024 eclipse. Current trends point to the sun having about 125 sunspots when it peaks and this may just occur right around springtime of 2024.  A more active sun usually is correlated with a more dynamic corona which is making for a lot of excitement in the solar scientist community regarding the April 2024 total solar eclipse. Solar cycle 24 peaked with about 115 sunspots visible at the peak which was much lower than the 180 of the prior cycle #23.

One of the findings during the 2017 total solar eclipse regarding the corona was that there were indications of a more complex interaction than previously thought between the “cold” lower atmosphere of the sun known as the chromosphere and the hot outer atmosphere layer (corona).  A relatively narrow area called the transition region separates the corona from the chromosphere. Temperatures rise sharply in the transition region, from thousands of degrees in the chromosphere to more than a million degrees in the corona. The density of plasma falls rapidly through the transition region moving upward from the chromosphere to the corona.

If you miss this next one you may regret it

The next total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. after the 2024 eclipse will occur in 2044. This eclipse will be visible in Montana, the Prairie Provinces of Canada and the Arctic. The next “cross-continental” total eclipse will happen the following year, in 2045, when the moon’s shadow will sweep across the U.S. from northern California down to Florida.

Get ready…the next “Great American Solar Eclipse” is fast approaching.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
arcfieldweather.com

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