The solar eclipse offered electricity network operators a “live drill” in how to cope with fluctuating output from renewable energy. They passed with flying colours.
For centuries, scientists have known when and where eclipses will be visible. They pack their bags, head for the line of totality and hope for the best – which doesn’t always happen.
Franklin advanced a scientific – not supernatural – understanding of astronomical events such as eclipses. His satirical character ‘Poor Richard’ mocked those who bought into astrological predictions.
Meteorology researchers across the country are prepping experiments for the mini-night the eclipse will bring on August 21 – two minutes and 36 seconds without the sun in the middle of the day.
An astronomer explains how. why and when eclipses happen, what scientists can learn from them, and what they would look like if you were standing on the Moon.