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Campus Takes to the Quad in Hopes of Witnessing Solar Eclipse
U.S. Navy photo by Javier Chagoya

Campus Takes to the Quad in Hopes of Witnessing Solar Eclipse

By Javier Chagoya

Participants from the Defense Resources Management Institute (DRMI) course don protective eye wear to observe the astronomical show of the century in Spruance Plaza, Aug. 21. Unfortunately, a marine layer along with low clouds dashed any hopes of experiencing the partial solar eclipse around the Monterey Bay.

Faculty Associate Charlie Orsburn, thinking months ahead, provided 60 pairs of glasses to students currently attending DRMI’s Senior International Defense Management course.

“Even if we’re not in the path of totality, we can still observe some dimness in light and the slight change in temperature. I wanted our course participants, who come here from around the world, to be part of the excitement of seeing a solar eclipse while in the U.S.,” said Orsburn. Across campus, students, staff and faculty were out with their protective eyeglasses, hoping the California coast’s stubborn weather would clear for a quick view. Several students and faculty cleverly used solar eclipse apps, pointing their mobile phones and tablets towards the heavens to view where the hidden sun would be, thanks to the app’s live visualization of the event.

As an academic institution, faculty and students across NPS’ varied departments brought their own unique perspective to the rare event. Research Associate Dan Sakoda and doctoral student Giovanni Minelli of the Space Systems Academic Group discussed whether or not an eclipse would have any effect on orbiting satellites. They concluded that the duration of an eclipse outage in low earth orbit would be on the order of minutes or less, so satellites would be unaffected because most are built to operate in the shadow of the earth for 30-60 minutes without sunlight.

“A typical orbit around the planet is 90 minutes and most satellites encounter a proportion of direct sunlight for part of the orbit, and shade for the rest of it,” said Minelli.

“The duration [of a total eclipse] is so short that the effect would be negligible. For many low earth satellites, they routinely see up to 15 or so eclipse periods per day as they orbit the earth and their path passes through the earth’s shadow.  So, a short solar eclipse caused by the moon would have minimal impact,” added Sakoda.

Back on the ground, most were still hoping the marine layer that brought a drizzle for a few minutes would burn off. Professor of Meteorology Wendell Nuss is all too familiar with the pattern of Monterey’s sometimes gloomy weather conditions.

“The occurrence and persistence of our marine layer stratus clouds have everything to do with the depth of the layer. Normally in summertime, we have sinking air above us that creates warm air above our cool marine air, which traps the clouds in that layer. When the layer is deep, the daytime warming has a hard time warming enough to evaporate the clouds,” Nuss explained.

“If the layer is shallow, the clouds evaporate more easily with modest heating. For Monday, the day of the eclipse, the layer was 3,500 ft. deep and it was very difficult to burn off the clouds. Today, August 22, due to a slight change in the wind flow, the layer is shallower, about 2,000 ft., and so the skies cleared much more easily,” said Nuss.

NPS Assistant Professor of Oceanography, Mara Orescanin, taught her Nearshore Processes course on Spanagel’s rooftop during the solar eclipse. It was a perfect opportunity for her to engage students of different backgrounds in something distinctly observable.

“I teach coastal oceanography, and try to emphasize the importance of observation, especially in nature. I strive to keep classes engaging, and this was an excellent opportunity,” Orescanin said.

Orescanin talked about rip currents, relating what her students learned about ocean waves to circulation at the coast.

“In Monterey, people see rip currents regularly, so this was a tangible example of the importance of coastal circulation. When the sun and moon are perfectly in line, the tidal forces are stronger, so we are experiencing very strong oscillations in the tidal range.  As for the short-term effects, I am sure there are local disturbances, but most are likely short-lived,” added Orescanin.

Regardless of the lack of visibility, the solar eclipse served as a point of reflection for many on the Peninsula and created some fun gatherings around the NPS campus.

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