2017 Total Solar Eclipse

Map of US Eclipses from 2017-2052

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse caused the shadow of the moon to traverse the United States from Oregon to South Carolina in just over 90 minutes. Although the ionospheric effects of solar eclipses have been studied for over 50 years, many unanswered questions remain. HamSCI invited amateur radio operators to participate in a large-scale experiment which characterized the ionospheric response to the total solar eclipse and targeted open science questions.

Hundreds of ham radio operators helped out by getting on the air with the Solar Eclipse QSO Party, a contest-like operating event designed to generate data for studying the eclipse. Other HamSCI experiments included making HF Frequency Measurements, recording HF spectra, setting up a Reverse Beacon Network Receiver, participating in VLF/LF receiving experiments, and listening to AM broadcast stations. See our Eclipse Get Involved for more information.

Are you curious about how prior total solar eclipses affected the ionosphere? Read about radio experiments during the 1999 United Kingdom Total Solar Eclipse coordinated by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Thanks for participating! Both science and SEQP results for 2017 are now available on the SEQP page. Stay tuned for future experiments pertaining to the October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse and April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse!

SEQP

Get on the air with the Solar Eclipse QSO Party!

Get Involved!

How can hams and the general public get involved?

The Experiment

Details of the plan to study the 2017 solar eclipse.

Join the HamSCI-Eclipse Mailing List

N6NC Publishes Propagation Research Articles in QEX

Saturday, March 18, 2023 - 05:12

Submitted 1 week 5 days ago by w2naf.

A key component of the HamSCI mission is to encourage amateurs to conduct and share their own research and experiments. Larry Serra N6NC recently published two articles in QEX Magazine from his trans-North Pacific 40m propagation projects: The first, "Why Summer 40m Propagation Is So Good Between Japan and the US Pacific Coast" (QEX SEPT/OCT 2022 p.14), examined 12 years of July JA-US 40m propagation conditions and CW Skimmer results on days of JA domestic CW contests and proposed that the relatively calm water under the almost wall-to-wall summertime North Pacific HIGH pressure centers provided nearly +12dBm enhanced low-angle signal strength due to a reduction of surface reflection absorptions in the 3-ionospheric refraction, 2-sea surface reflection propagation path.

The WWV Frequency Celebration: Live Stream March 2, 2023

Thursday, March 2, 2023 - 10:56

Submitted 4 weeks 4 hours ago by af8a.

Join the WWV Amateur Radio Club, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery (FCMoD), and the HamSCI for two excellent lectures to be live streamed on March 2, 2023 at 5:00PM Mountain Std Time (0000 UTC):

The History of WWV Frequency Broadcasts - Glenn Nelson, WWV Staff, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
WWV as a Beacon for Citizen Science - Dr. David Kazdan and Rachel Boedicker - Case Western Reserve University/HamSCI Aidan Montare - NIST Boulder/HamSCI

QST Article on Measuring the Frequency Accuracy and Stability of WWV and WWVH Published

Tuesday, February 21, 2023 - 21:56

Submitted 1 month 6 days ago by w2naf.

Mike Lombardi, K0WWX, HamSCI member and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Time Realization and Distribution Group published the article Measuring the Frequency Accuracy and Stability of WWV and WWVH in ARRL's March 2023 QST. WWV and WWVH are the United States' National Time and Frequency Standards broadcast stations and are of critical importance to the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station Project.

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