2001 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID |
Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| 2001 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE | G01-041A | 06/21/01 |
00:22:11 | Few people ever get the opportunity to
see a total eclipse of the Sun. It only happens
on the average of once every 400 years for any given spot on the
Earth's surface and lasts only for one to two minutes. On June 21,
2001, and on the day of the summer solstice, this natural phenomenon
will be visible within a very narrow path that begins in the Southern
Atlantic Ocean and ending in the Indian Ocean. The total eclipse is
not only beautiful to look at, but it provides a unique view of the
Sun's outer atmosphere called the corona. Eclipses are so useful
in helping us study the Sun that scientists built special cameras
onboard the SOHO spacecraft to create a continuous artifical
eclipse. From the unique vantage point in space, scientists have
been able to monitor the explosions on the Sun that can impact us
here on Earth.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): a)
Solar Eclipse June 21, 2001
Courtesy: NASA / Exploratorium
b) Eclipse Animations
1. The animation shows the path of the
Moon's shadow on the Earth and illustrates the coronal flash that
occurs when the eclipse reaches totality
2. Global Image of the Path Animation
3. Percentage of Coverage and Path Animation and Stills
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Aruba Eclipse of
1998 - These images were taken during the eclipse of February
26, 1998, as seen by scientists and students in Aruba. The images
were produced as part of an interactive educational web cast produced
by the Exploratorium and NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Educational
Forum.
Courtesy: Exploratorium/NASA
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| ITEM (3): Satellite Views -
Total Solar Eclipse From February 26, 1998 - This
time-lapse sequence shows the shadow of the Moon as it first touches
the Earth in the Pacific Ocean about 2000 miles south of the Hawaiian
Islands. It then raced along the Pacific, over northern South
America and across the Caribbean Sea before exiting in the Atlantic
about 600 miles west of Morocco. The time-lapse image sequence is
taken from the NOAA/National Weather Services Geostationary
Operational Environment Satellite (GOES) 10. The sequence was
enhanced and rendered at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's
Laboratory for Atmospheres. Courtesy: NASA/NOAA
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| ITEM (4): A Continuous
Eclipse From a Million Miles in Space - The Large Angle and
Spectrometric Coronograph onboard the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory) satellie creates an artificial eclipse by using an
occulting disk to block light coming from the Sun in order to see the
tenuous region around the Sun called the corona. Note the intense
activity captured in this time-lapse sequence from April 2001. The
bright object that traverses the screen is the planet Mercury.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Solar Max/Solar
Minimum Comparision - The Sun has been at its peak of its
eleven-year cycle of activity. This is called the solar maximum and
is the 2-3 year period when the Sun's activity is most complex and
turbulent. Note the dramatic changes in the Sun from the solar
minimum in 1996 to the solar maximum in 2000. These images were
captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite,
Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope (EIT) camera Courtesy:
NASA
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| ITEM (6): Coronal Mass
Ejection Animation - This animation depicts a powerful
coronal mass ejection or CME, in which large explosions spew billions
of tons of electrified gase into space, sometimes towards Earth, at
speeds up to two million miles per hour. This event, known as space
weather, can trigger major disturbances in Earth's magnetosphere.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (7): Summer Solstice
Animation - Teh solar eclipse of 2001 falls on the day
of the Summer Solstice; the longest day of the year when the Sun has
climbed to its highest point in the sky. The four seasons of summer,
fall, winter and spring, and the length of daylight changes, because
the Sun's path through the sky is a result of the Earth's tilted
axis. This tilt causes different parts of the globe to become
oriented towards the Sun at diferent times of the year. Thus,
summers are warming warmer because the days are longer, and the
Sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (8): Effects of Solar
Storms - a) Power grids may fail b)
Spacecraft can be damaged, radio and satellite communications may be
disrupted c) Data can become distorted as in this LASCO
image d) Beautiful auroras
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (9): SOHO
Animation - The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
spacecraft operates at a special vantage point about one million
miles out in space between the Sun and the Earth.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (10): Eclipse Viewing
Tips - This short video clip with NASA Astronomer Dr. Fred
Espanek, gives viewers various eclipse viewing tips. It is VERY
IMPORTANT to never attempt to observe the partial phases of any
eclipse with the naked eye as permanent damage to the eyes can occur.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (11): Miscellaneous
"B" Roll - a) Solar scientists at work
b) Satellites in Space Animation c) Leck
Telescope in Hawaii d) SVS Visual of the Earth
e) SVS visual of the United States f) SVS
visual of Africa Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (12): Interview
Excerpts With Fred Espenek,
Astrophysicist, NASA/GSFC Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (13): Reporters
Package Courtesy: NASA
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Space Science Gallery