IOTA February 26 1998 Eclipse Observations
The International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) is
planning an expedition to the island of Curaç to view the Feb 26
1998 eclipse. Observers will station themselves within an
approximate 1 km wide zone near the southern limit of the eclipse
(which is near the southernmost part of Curaç) to view and
record the Baily's Bead phenomena. A second expedition will
observe Baily's Beads from the northern limit.
The video observations of Baily's Beads during eclipses will
allow IOTA to accurately determine the radius of the Sun in
ongoing research to search for possible solar radius changes.
Using solar eclipses, this technique yields a far more accurate
radius of the Sun than any ground = based method thus far.
Equipment needed for making such observations is a small
telescope, sunfilter, video camera, camcorder and shortwave radio
for recording WWV = time signals. This expedition will be led by
IOTA's vice president Paul Maley. Other IOTA participants in
Curaç include Gary Nealis (NASA Johnson Space Center), Chuck
Herold, Isao Sato (IOTA-Japan) and the undersigned.
If you are planning to go to Curaç and are interested in
participating or need more info, please contact the undersigned.
Richard Nugent
IOTA
Houston, Texas
RNugent@ghg.net
Websites:
1998
Solar Eclipse Displayed with RedShift 2 Software