News & Events

For the first time, scientists, including  lead author Newkirk graduate student Zihao Yang, have taken near-daily measurements of the Sun’s global coronal magnetic field, a region of the Sun that has only been observed irregularly in the past. The resulting observations are providing valuable insights into the processes that drive the intense solar storms that impact fundamental technologies, and thus lives and livelihoods, here on Earth. See NSF NCAR News article.

On April 8, 2024, the day of the total solar eclipse, HAO observers Ben Berkey (site manager) and Lisa Perez-Gonzalez flew by helicopter to the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) located at 11,200 feet on the north face of Mauna Loa to observe the Sun’s corona using the MLSO coronagraphs.

The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, was a great opportunity for the team of HAO, NSO, and NOAA scientists and collaborators to travel to a location on the totality path with the goal of running unique science experiments. Using additional telescopes, binoculars, and outreach materials, we were able to capture the eclipse throughout its phases and share our passion with a very excited local crowd.

HAO is pleased to announce the publication of a new and timely book written for young and open-minded scientists just prior to the total eclipse over the USA in April. Senior scientist Philip Judge and co-author James A. Ionson ask why, 8 decades after Bengt Edlen published his seminal article, we still do not have a clear answer to one of the longest-lasting puzzles in all of astronomy.  Why is the solar corona so hot?