Eclipse Science & Amateur Radio

What is science?

Science is a process for understanding our natural world, encompassing fields as diverse as particle physics and biology. Science is memorizing or listing facts. Data (empiricism) is critical for developing and testing scientific theories. A robust scientific theory explains the data, makes testable predictions and is falsifiable.

Quite a lot of science will be done during the upcoming April 8 solar eclipse. A portion of what is planned to be done by amateur radio operators is science. There is overlap between the two which is quite interesting. Which is, measuring the change of the virtual height of HF reflections as the ionization density first declines and then recovers during the full 3 hour duration of the eclipse. Rockets will measure the ionization profile over a long vertical path while hams and professionals sound the ionosphere at various frequencies.

Almost everything else hams will be doing is not really science. That may sound unfair so I'll explain my position.

Imagine that, like Galileo, you roll balls down an inclined surface to measure the acceleration of objects due to Earth's gravity. This was fairly innovative at the time and he was able to generate data good enough to generate theories about gravitational action on bodies. The experiments were repeatable, the measurement error bars reasonably good, and the theory was falsifiable. That's science.

If you repeat these experiments today, are you doing science? In my opinion, no. Although that statement may seem to be inconsistent with what I said above, it really isn't. Many centuries have passed since those early experiments. The quantity and accuracy of data gathered from countless experiments over the centuries has generated increasingly excellent theories of gravitation and related field of physics. 

Should you perform Galileo's experiment now, the data gathered will be paltry and of woefully inadequate accuracy. You will discover nothing that is not already known, and any differences will be attributed to experimental error or large error bars.

Operating during the eclipse and observing propagation is very interesting and should be encouraged. However, other than for the very precise sounding experiments there will little of note added to the tome of science. The data collected will tell us very little or nothing that we don't already know. Just like redoing Galileo's experiments with rolling balls down an inclined surface.

If it isn't science, what is it? It's a combination of science education and perhaps entertainment. Considering the woeful lack of science awareness in our science-dependent civilization, public education has value. How much of that education makes it out of the relatively cloistered amateur radio circle into the public consciousness may be underwhelming. That would be unfortunate but hardly surprising. I can only hope that organizations like HamSci can raise public awareness. 

As for myself, my radios will be turned off. I live in the path of totality and the weather forecast is promising (as I write these words two days before the big day). Where I live the duration of totality will be a little less than 2 minutes. That increases to about 3 minutes directly south on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. I gain about 2 to 3 seconds of totality for every kilometer travelled south from my QTH. Crossing into the US isn't worth the trouble since travel to the shadow's centre only adds another 10 to 15 seconds.

I have friends planning to visit to view the eclipse. Since the zone of totality eclipse ends about 15 kilometers to the north, many people will drive south for the event. If plans change and they don't come over, I'll probably trek south to gain that extra minute. I know several obscure parking areas where I can do that without battling the massive crowds that are expected. The experience is better in a crowd but I don't want to waste the entire day since I'd have to leave early to find a place to park.

This is not my first solar eclipse. When I was a child there was one that passed through northern Manitoba. It was partial where our family lived in Winnipeg. My father smoked bits of broken window glass for us to look through. Yes, that's a terribly dangerous way to view a partial eclipse but what did we know. I just remember how wonderful it was. 

The experience left an indelible impression on me and kindled my lifelong interest in astronomy. I still wonder whether I ought to have made that first love my career. I'll never know. After that first eclipse I pored over astronomy books in the local library. I discovered that Winnipeg would be on the path of totality during an eclipse in 1979. What luck! But when you're 6 or 7 years old that's an incomprehensibly long way off. It was always in the back of mind as I grew into adulthood.

The years ground on and February 26, 1979 finally arrived. It was my final year of university in my home town of Winnipeg (VE4). The Canadian prairie gets a lot of sunny days during winter but it is very cold. The administration opened the roofs of many of the buildings on campus and that's how many of us viewed the eclipse. It was fun but cold: about -20° C with a mild breeze. As the Moon crept across the sun the temperature dropped. We'd duck inside occasionally to warm up.

It was an awesome experience that I've never forgotten during the following 45 years. That eclipse occurred near the peak of the solar cycle, and it was a big one so a lot was going on (on the sun and on 10 and 6 meters). During totality there was one very large prominence and a few smaller ones scattered around the solar disk. Many stars were visible as our eyes adapted to the dark. Totality lasted only a couple of minutes although I don't recall the exact duration where we were. It was long enough for a thoroughly amazing experience.

It is well worth the trouble to travel to view a total solar eclipse if none comes to you. I've found that most people who've never seen one don't appreciate what they're missing. Once you experience it you'll understand how worthwhile it is to make the effort.

I can only hope for clear skies and a prominence or two on April 8. I may update this article after the eclipse. Is viewing an eclipse science? No. It is educational and entertaining, and that's good enough for me. I'll put amateur radio aside for that one day. Hams not in totality's path may enjoy monitoring the bands to discover its effects.