Indonesian Solar Eclipse   
       
   March 8, 2016: The forests of Indonesia are homes to one of the richest   
   populations of songbirds in the world.  Ecotourists travel from far and wide   
   to listen to them sing from the leafy canopy of the nation's volcanic islands.   
       
   On March 9th, 2016, not long after sunrise, a time when the forest is usually   
   filled with tweets, trills, and warbles, the songbirds of Indonesia will go   
   silent.   
       
   That is how songbirds respond to a total eclipse of the sun.   
       
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQjPFwcjh9c   
       
   Eclipse chasers have had the date marked on their calendar for years.  It is   
   the only total eclipse of 2016.  During the early hours of March 9th, the new   
   moon will pass directly in front of the sun.  The moon's shadow will lance   
   down toward Earth, making landfall initially in the Indian Ocean, racing   
   across South East Asia, and from there onto the Pacific Ocean where the   
   eclipse will be partially visible in parts of Alaska, Guam, Hawai'i, and   
   American Samoa.   
       
   Inside the moon's cool shadow, sky watchers can look up and see the sun's   
   ghostly corona, a mesmerizing sight.   
       
   Sarah Jaeggli, Solar Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center says "I   
   cannot stress enough how special solar eclipses are. Eclipses let us see a   
   region of the sun's atmosphere called the `corona' that is generally invisible   
   to us.  We can see the sun's corona from satellites and ground-based   
   observatories using devices called `coronagraphs,' but we simply cannot build   
   a coronagraph that is as good as the moon passing in front of the sun. The   
   large size of the moon and its distance from us means less stray light from   
   the sun can scatter around the edges and interfere with observations of the   
   sun's faint atmosphere."   
       
   She emphasizes that "the brief glimpses of the corona during total solar   
   eclipses are not to be wasted."   
       
   The experience of a total eclipse is, however, more than just the sight of the   
   corona.  It is also the feel of the moon's cool shadow that lowers air   
   temperatures by as much as 5 degree Finside the path of totality. And it is   
   the sound of wildlife responding to the odd and unexpected nightfall.   
       
   Songbirds go quiet.   
       
   Frogs and crickets replace the birdsong with their own nighttime chorus.   
       
   Charlotte Vermeulen, a biologist at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, Netherlands   
   says, "Dragonflies hide under a leaf, ants return to their nest, sheep walk   
   back to their sleeping place, cattle egrets return to their nocturnal roost,   
   diurnal grasshoppers chirp more slowly and then stop." In August 1999, there   
   was a 98 percent partial solar eclipse in Amsterdam.  She recalls many people   
   coming to the zoo during the eclipse just to see the reactions of the animals.   
       
   On March 9th in Indonesia, totality will last for about 2 minutes, giving   
   humans and wildlife alike plenty of time to react.   
       
   NASA scientists will be in Indonesia using the eclipse to test a new telescope   
   configuration designed to study the solar corona.  The new instrument will be   
   able to observe the temperature and velocity of material in the solar corona,   
   providing information that could help scientists understand the physics of the   
   corona, including how the sun's atmosphere gets so much hotter than its   
   surface. They hope to fly this design in space in the future, but an eclipse   
   on Earth gives them a great opportunity to do some inexpensive testing.   
       
   This is the last total solar eclipse before the "Big One" next year.  On   
   August 21st, 2017, the sun and moon will line up again.  This time the moon's   
   shadow will cross the continental United States, creating a total eclipse in   
   easy driving distance of tens of millions of people.  It will likely be the   
   best observed eclipse in human history.   
       
   If you plan to be one of those eclipse chasers, just remember, there's more   
   than one way to experience an eclipse.  See the corona.  Feel the cool air.   
   Listen to the songbirds and other wildlife.   
       
   The preview begins in Indonesia on March 9th.   
       
   For more news about solar eclipses, stay tuned to science.nasa.gov.   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- DB 3.99 + Windows 10   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)