Physics Photo of the Week

  Eclipse 2024 from Northeast Vermont - P hotos  by Olivia Mitchell-Eby The recent total solar eclipse was spectacular for family kin in a corner of Vermont called the "Northeast Kingdom".  Olivia used her cell phone held in her lap to take photos of the on-coming eclipse.  In the distance above the horizon we can see the on-coming ominous shadow of the Moon approaching Olivia and her immediate family amidst new-fallen snow.  The fresh snow is a sign of Vermont spring in early April. Modern cell phones have the a bility to do time-lapse videos, so Olivia supported her cell phone in here lap aimed at the eclipsing su n and recorded the time-lapse video seen below.     This video is amazing.  We can see the Moon's shadow projected on the thin cirrus clouds, when the shadow arrives at the viewing point, the sky becomes dark.  We don't see the Sun as if it were eclipsed however.  Cell phones are "smart" and set the exposures automatically....

Totality! April 8, 2024 - Photo by Donald F. Collins We traveled to Shaker Heights, Ohio (next to Cleveland) to capture the total solar eclipse.  We woke up to some rain and solid clouds as a cold front passed through, but the front passed with beautiful clear skies by noon.  The totality began about 3:13 pm and lasted 3 min:49 sec. The total solar eclipse is characterized by the corona - the halo immediately surrounding the Sun.  The corona consists of ionized gases ejected from the surface of the Sun which glow with the spectra characteristic of the the elements in the Sun.  The shape of the corona is variable from eclipse to eclipse causing every solar eclipse to produce a different display.  The corona is also strongly shaped by the strong magnetic fields surrounding the Sun.  The eclipse also shows several solar prominences - the flame-like ejections of solar mater being "boiled" off into space.  The prominence protruding from the south limb (th...