Heliophysicist discusses April eclipse
While Pine Bluff and southeast Arkansas are expected to be outside the path of a total eclipse across the continental United States, the rare event of even a partial eclipse is a sight to behold.
That’s what Samaiyah Farid, a project scientist with the Boulder, Colo.-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, spoke to students and faculty at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff during a Thursday afternoon presentation at the 1890 Extension Complex’s Haley Auditorium.
“You’ve got to get up and go anyway,” Farid said. “You have to. Sleep in your car. Sleep on the ground. Do what you got to do.”
Arkansans are preparing for the April 8 eclipse through travel precautions and cultural events. In Pine Bluff, the Heart & SoulAR Eclipse Festival will begin April 5 with a golf tournament at Harbor Oaks Golf Course and end with watch parties on the lawn at the Pine Bluff Main Library and Saracen Landing on April 8. Pine Bluff is expected to see 98.7% sun obscurity between those hours, while much of Arkansas north of the line just below Texarkana, Arkadelphia, Little Rock and Jonesboro will be in the path of total obscurity. (Areas such as Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas will fall just outside the total eclipse path.)
Farid, an Alabama A&M and Vanderbilt-educated researcher, studies heliophysics, or that of the sun and its effects on the solar system. She told the audience at UAPB that she will look for how far away from the sun the coronal jets, or the flare of plasma from the solar atmosphere, will propagate. From the earth, she said, one may notice a coronal jet in the form of a filament.
“Even if just to observe something like, if you see the total eclipse, you’ll be able to see the corona and you’ll be able to see any eruption happening,” Farid said. “If you get lucky enough, that’ll be something cool to see because it is rare. It happened last time.”
The most recent such eclipse impacting some or all of the continental U.S. came on Aug. 21, 2017, and the one before that was on Feb. 26, 1979, according to Weather Underground.
There have been 17 such solar eclipses since 1867, the weather service indicated.
“It depends on the earth and where we are in the rotation of the sun,” Farid said. “It’s happening somewhere all the time every six months on the earth, but it’s just not over the United States.”
Scientists don’t expect another eclipse to impact some or all of the continental U.S. until Aug. 12, 2045. It is projected that all of southeast Arkansas will be in the path of a total eclipse on that date.
Arkansas officials are expecting an influx of visitors for the eclipse. Arkansas State Police announced that it would strategically deploy troopers across the state and work with other law enforcement agencies to address potential safety risks, manage hazards, monitor traffic flow and enforce road safety regulations.
Those traveling are asked to dial *277 for any non-emergency travel situations. The call will transfer the caller to the nearest State Police troop headquarters.