A golden opportunity for science: this is everything that will be studied during the eclipse

Rarely does an astronomical phenomenon concentrate so much popular expectation and scientific interest at the same time. The total solar eclipse next Wednesday, August 12th, will not only be a milestone for millions of people who will have the opportunity to witness one of the most extraordinary spectacles that nature offers. It will also represent an exceptional opportunity to test instruments, validate scientific models, and obtain data that, under normal conditions, are simply impossible to achieve. Catalonia and the Iberian Peninsula will be the global epicenter of astronomy.

During the few moments of totality, the Sun will transform into a natural laboratory. The sudden disappearance of its intense light allows for direct observation of the solar corona, studying the magnetic fields that govern its activity, analyzing the sudden changes that occur on Earth, or refining the tools that help us understand how our star influences our planet. Each eclipse can provide answers that ultimately transcend astronomy.

Catalonia had not experienced a total eclipse for 121 years, and will not experience another for another 154 years. We are on the verge of a golden opportunity to obtain unique scientific data right here at home. "It is an opportunity to position Catalonia in the world of science, as a country with a passion for research," assures the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, in statements to ARA.

What does an eclipse do to our heart?

One of the most outstanding experiments to be carried out this August 12 will be Project Solaris, which will measure the impact of the total solar eclipse on the human heart. It is a pioneering citizen science experiment in the world, driven by the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), and the Vall d'Hebron Hospital. Using smartwatches that collect biometric data, it will be analyzed whether heart rate varies during the eclipse.

“An eclipse is a very spectacular phenomenon that causes emotion in many people. An application has been created that participants will install on their mobile phones so that, completely anonymously, their biometric data will be sent to a server and then to Vall d'Hebron, where cardiology specialists will analyze it,” explains Eduard Masana, from the IEEC. “It is a matter of emotion, but the sudden change in environmental conditions, such as temperature, also influences it, which can be reflected in heart rate,” he adds.

Project Solaris will involve up to 5,000 volunteers and aims to involve citizens in the eclipse and promote scientific dissemination. “An eclipse of these characteristics can only be seen once in a lifetime, or never. It is a privilege, and we hope that this experience will awaken scientific vocations among young people,” remarks counselor Montserrat.

New key data for telecommunications

The Ebre Observatory has been chosen as an institutional and scientific reference point in Catalonia to follow and analyze the eclipse and broadcast the signal live. The choice is not accidental: it is the area of the country where totality will be best seen, but above all it is the Catalan facility with the oldest series of meteorological and astronomical data. It was launched in 1904, and its public presentation coincided the following year with the last total eclipse visible in Catalonia. It contains exclusive data from that phenomenon – and since then it has taken images of the Sun every day – which can now be compared with those obtained on August 12. “The 1905 eclipse marked a before and after worldwide in space research; the best astronomers in the world came here,” explains Juan José Curto, former director of the Ebre Observatory. Now they want to repeat that feat.

The Government wants to turn August 12th into a global observation and scientific dissemination day in the Ebre region, open to the public. The event will bring together scientists, experts, and institutional representatives, with presentations, monitoring activities, and live observation of the phenomenon. Among others, Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque, NASA astronaut Ellen Baker, and the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Didier Queloz will participate, offering lectures before the eclipse.

The data and images obtained in the Ebre will allow for the study of prominences, the solar corona, and the Sun's magnetic activity. “There is a lot of research and technology developed with eclipses that allows for the generation, for example, of new materials for telescopes,” remarks the minister. “This information can help the satellite telecommunications sector, greatly affected by solar activity, and will enable the development of new applications and technologies more protected from solar influence,” she adds.

“We are very focused on collecting the maximum amount of data and images of the eclipse so that nothing escapes us; afterwards, astronomers from all over the world will be able to use and analyze them,” adds Montserrat. The Montsec Astronomical Park will also carry out observations and collect data of the eclipse – in this case partial – in coordination with the Ebre park. Other observatories in the country will also contribute.

Years ago, an eclipse was the only way to observe the solar corona. Today, space probes have expanded this knowledge, but it remains the most precise method for studying it. “The study of the solar corona is very important because there are many things we don't know. We want to better understand how the magnetic field works within the corona and be able to predict the impact of such extreme phenomena, which we cannot do now,” explains astrophysicist and science communicator Joan Anton Català.

Meteorological experiments

The eclipse will also be a meteorological experiment. The Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) will launch three radiosoundings from the Ebre Observatory: before, during, and after the phenomenon. “This will allow us to compare all climatic variables at different levels of the atmosphere and see what interferences the eclipse causes,” explains the director of Meteocat, Sarai Sarroca, to ARA.

“The time may not be the most favorable, because it will already be getting dark; but we believe it is appropriate to analyze what effects the eclipse will have on the atmospheric boundary layer with the interruption of solar radiation,” she adds. A radiosounding will also be launched from the University of Barcelona, and the monitoring of five meteorological stations of Meteocat located in the path of totality will be intensified, which will record possible changes in temperature and wind. These are Tarragona, Constantí, Lleida, Amposta, and Gandesa.

NASA and ESA, present in Spain

The total eclipse will cross an important swathe of Spain. In the State, the main institutional and scientific point of monitoring will be the Yebes Observatory, in Guadalajara, from where data and images of the totality of the phenomenon will be obtained. On August 12, hundreds of people will gather there. "Researchers from numerous countries will come, and our observatories and institutions will have extraordinary international visibility; the observations made by Spanish and foreign teams will be shared and analyzed," assures Rafael Bachiller, astronomer and director of the National Astronomical Observatory and the Royal Observatory of Madrid, to ARA.

During the eclipse, sounding rockets will also be launched at various points in Spain. The European Space Agency (ESA) – with a permanent presence in Spain – will broadcast the phenomenon internationally live from the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory, in Teruel, with the presence of scientists and agency officials. It will also organize a public observation in León.

For its part, NASA will carry out a scientific campaign with high-altitude aircraft flights that will follow the Moon's shadow and instrumented balloons from Castilla y León to study in more detail and for more minutes the solar corona and different atmospheric effects associated with the eclipse.