Solar eclipse, 21 August 2017

This video from the USA says about itself:

Eclipses Throughout our Universe | Out There | Solar Eclipse 2017

14 aug. 2017

On the 21st day of August, 2017, the moon will slide between the Earth and the sun, painting a swath of darkness across North America. The Great American Solar Eclipse.

An exercise in cosmic geometry. A reminder that we live on one sphere among many, all moving to the laws of Kepler, Newton and Einstein. The moon’s orbit around the Earth is slightly tilted, so the shadow of the new moon usually passes above or below us. About twice a year, the three bodies briefly align, and the moon’s long shadow cuts across our planet. The day dies and is reborn. The sun is replaced by an inky hole, feathered with the pale corona, a million degrees hotter than the sun itself. Staring up into the cone of blackness you can feel the cosmic gears grinding. Two minutes of beauty and terror.

What happens in Earth’s atmosphere during an eclipse? Using smartphones and radio kits, researchers will track changes in how radio waves travel through the ionosphere. By Lisa Grossman, 7:00am, August 13, 2017.

Can the eclipse tell us if Einstein was right about general relativity? He probably was, but astronomers will put his 1915 theory to the test with DIY experiments. By Lisa Grossman, 7:00am, August 15, 2017.

What can we learn about Mercury’s surface during the eclipse? A telescope aboard a pair of research jets will make a thermal map of the planet during the eclipse. By Lisa Grossman, 7:00am, August 14, 2017.

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