Goddard Scientists View Solar Eclipse with Tunisian Students

Goddard Scientists View Solar Eclipse with Tunisian Students

01.27.06

Under a science and technology agreement between the United States and Tunisia, two NASA researchers flew to Tunisia in northern Africa to experience the Oct. 3 solar eclipse with more than 80 Tunisian students. The Goddard Space Flight Center solar scientists, astrophysicist Joseph Davila and planetary research scientist Mehdi Benna, a native Tunisian, were invited to participate by the Tunisian Young Science Association (AJST). Image right: Tunisian children were very interested in the Solarscopes brought from the US. Credit: NASA "Tunisia is a developing country where science is mixed with passion and fantasy," said Benna. “Eclipses can be frightening events and Tunisia has no astronomers or space physicists that can explain these events." Benna hopes that their explanations can help make future eclipses exciting, rather than scary, for Tunisians. Participating in this event was particularly important to Benna because he was a member of AJST as a child. “I was delighted to have the chance to give something back to my country and perhaps influence the career choices of young people since this group helped to steer me toward a career as a scientist," Benna said. In preparation for the eclipse, two Tunisian students and a film crew were fortunate enough to visit Davila and Benna at Goddard in September to practice setting up some of the experiments to be carried out during the eclipse. They also spent a few days in Washington touring the National Air and Space Museum and visited the National Capital Astronomers club at their Telescope Making and Mirror Grinding class in Chevy Chase, Md. Image left: The public had access to one of the AJST's (Tunisian Youth-Science Association) telescopes set on the eclipse site. Credit: NASA Once the scientists arrived in Tunisia's capitol city of Tunis, they participated in a press roundtable at the U.S. Embassy. Representatives attended from the major French language and Arabic newspapers in Tunis and from two major radio stations. In a series of lectures at the City of Science, a new science museum in Tunis, Benna and Davila spoke to approximately100 students and members of the public. Benna spoke about the history of Mars exploration and the anatomy of space missions, including how a spacecraft is built, tested and launched; what kind of data scientists expect; and how long it takes to build and test such missions. Davila discussed the current state of space weather forecasting, which attempts to predict solar flares. “Solar storms produce energetic particles that can be harmful for humans in space, high-latitude power grids, and communication systems that rely on satellites in orbit around Earth. To travel to the moon and Mars routinely and safely, we must be able to forecast solar storms,” said Davila. And finally, in an interesting marriage of science and social behavior, Benna and Davila participated along with Professor Chapoteau, a Professor of History at the University of Tunis, in a public discussion that covered the history and mythology of solar eclipses in past civilizations. Image right : NASA scientist Joe Davila helps a student setting his observation post. Credit: NASA These events were well received by the Tunisians and they provided the first contact with Americans for many of the attendees. The local press covered the talks with positive coverage in more than12 news stories. The Goddard scientists then traveled to the southern city of Douz at the edge of the Sahara desert where they set up a number of experiments to be carried out by the students. In addition, several telescopes were available for public viewing during the eclipse. Using these telescopes, along with SolarScopesÒ, models and diagrams, the students explained the science of eclipses to hundreds of public observers. U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia William Hudson and his wife Marion also attended the event. Weather conditions were perfect to view the eclipse and applause broke out as the moon moved across the sun, eventually covering 95 percent of it. “It was a beautiful twilight covered the desert, and all activity stopped for a few minutes. People gazed upward, while the camels, unimpressed, sat quietly on the ground,” Davila said. The trip was made possible by a June 2004 science and technology agreement between the United States and Tunisia, and was sponsored by NASA and the U.S. State Department. NASA provided 10,000 educational solar eclipse posters in Arabic, French and English for distribution to Tunisian students and the public, and thousands of eclipse viewing glasses. The State Department supported the travel expenses. A well known Tunisian movie studio, Cinetelefilms, is producing a documentary that will include the footage shot at Goddard and capture the scientists' interaction with the Tunisian astronomy students along with the observation of the eclipse. This film is slated to become a pilot for a proposed series of science documentaries aimed at promoting mutual understanding between the West and the Arab world. A DVD will be made of the trip for distribution to schools in Tunisia and elsewhere throughout the Arab world. The NASA visit has prepared the students for the March 29, 2006, total eclipse of the sun, in northern Africa.