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On October 14, 2023 and April 8, 2024, there will be solar eclipses that will crisscross the United States. The eclipse in 2023 will be an annular eclipse, meaning that the Moon will be slightly farther away from Earth so that it will appear smaller than the Sun and an annulus or ring of sunlight will appear around the edge of the Moon. Filters must be used at all times. The April 8 eclipse will be total for those who are in the path of totality. More information about these eclipses are in this PDF FILE embedded below, and can be found at the American Astronomical Society's page HERE. The initial project was funded by NASA's Initiative to Develop Education through Astronomy and Space Science (IDEAS) program. The project's goal is to increase Girl Scout interest in science and astronomy through a series of Girl Scout pins, earned by observing specific astronomical objects or by participating in specific astronomical events. The main focus of this website is the first of the series, Eclipses and the Sun but now includes information on observing meteor showers and learning about space weather. Observations of a meteor shower are the core of requirements for earning a Meteors and Meteor Showers pin. To learn about how to observe a meteor shower and count meteors, visit this site Good luck! Pin requirements for Meteors and Meteor Showers may be found here (html) and click here for a printable pdf version. As part of this project, NASA solar scientist Mitzi Adams and Holy Spirit School teacher Elizabeth Simmons travelled to Zambia, Africa to view the first total solar eclipse of the new millennium. They shared their experiences with Girl Scouts in the Southeastern United States through a live webcast, complete with temperature data and a phone conference during the event. Participants included Girl Scouts from Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky. If you are interested in the solar eclipse adventure or would like to earn the Eclipses and the Sun pin, check out the links below. The pin requirements may be found on this page, click here. This page is for Girl Scout Leaders. Click here. To test your knowledge (pre-test), click here. The Solar Flare Diary is located here The Lunar Phases Diary may be found here. For a version of the Lunar Phases Diary suitable for younger scouts, click here. Pick out a group of sunspots and see what happens to them over a number of days by clicking here. After you've studied a bit, try the post-test. Click here. To find out more about our trip to Africa, go to this page. To see other images of the eclipse, go here. For a comparison of coronae from 1999 and 2001 eclipses, go to this page. Mitzi Adams will be adding more to this page as time goes on, so keep checking! If you have any questions, write to Mitzi Adams Funding for this project is through NASA IDEAS grant 216-20-03. This page last modified on 1 November 2002. |
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