{"id":1906,"date":"2023-02-24T11:10:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T11:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurorasaurudev.wpengine.com\/?p=1906"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:00:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:00:47","slug":"coming-soon-the-heliophysics-big-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=1906","title":{"rendered":"Coming soon: the Heliophysics Big Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guest post by Dr. Liz MacDonald<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/sun\/helio-big-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heliophysics Big Year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will celebrate solar science and its connection with our world; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/heliophysics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heliophysics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> itself is the study of our Sun and how it interacts with everything in our solar system. Inspired by the \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2011\/10\/16\/141387194\/the-real-birdwatchers-behind-hollywoods-big-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Big Year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d concept in birding, this will be a personal quest to experience and enhance your relationship with the Sun from October 2023 to December 2024. This time covers two different <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">solar eclipses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as \u201csolar maximum,\u201d when the Sun is at its most active! One of the biggest ways to take part will be through participating in citizen science. When I\u2019m not leading Aurorasaurus, I am working on this effort, and I\u2019m excited to bring it to you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DVYWwASlOXc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heralding the Heliophysics Big Year will be two solar eclipses: an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/2023\/oct-14-annular\/overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">annular solar eclipse<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Oct. 14, 2023, which will bring viewers in its path a \u201cring of fire,\u201d and a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/2024\/apr-8-total\/overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">total solar eclipse<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Monday, April 8, 2024, which will fully block the sun along the eclipse path. Most of the following opportunities still apply everywhere with a partial eclipse\u2014in other words, most of the continental US!<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post I\u2019ll highlight ways you can jump-start your involvement now. We are also looking for <\/span><b>volunteers and participatory science influencers to help spread the word<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about #heliobigyear. If you have an interest or question not covered here about how you can get involved, get in touch at hq-heliobigyear@mail.nasa.gov.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The path of the annular (left) and total (right) solar eclipses over North America. Credits: \u00a92021 Great American Eclipse, LLC, Used with Permission.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out your local library<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.starnetlibraries.org\/about\/our-projects\/solar-eclipse-activities-libraries-seal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEAL) Project<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to <\/span><b>help your library<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> get eclipse viewing glasses, activities, and training about the upcoming solar eclipses, all free! The SEAL team plans to deliver <\/span><b>free<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> eclipse glasses, educational materials, and online training to 6,000 library systems, provide circulating solar science kits to all 50 State Library Agencies, offer in-person workshops in coordination with all 50 State Library Agencies, and conduct eclipse education activities in non-library community sites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turn up the volume<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re in an <\/span><b>area without a lot of ambient radio signals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you can learn to operate your own <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/radio-astronomy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">radio telescope<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radio JOVE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">! Small <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.radio-astronomy.org\/grants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are available for students and teachers to bring projects like Radio JOVE to the classroom. During the 2017 All-American Eclipse, Radio JOVE participants <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/hamsci.org\/article\/radio-jove-project-and-2017-solar-eclipse\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">listened<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the variations in the sounds of the Sun and the Milky Way galaxy background caused by the ionosphere\u2019s response to the solar eclipse. And if you\u2019re an amateur radio operator, you can take part in scientific research with the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/hamsci.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HamSCI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Check out their <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/hamsci.org\/hamsci2023\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free virtual conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> coming up!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1897\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1897\" style=\"width: 669px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image001.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1897\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image001.png\" alt=\"Map of the Eclipse paths with pins throughout\" width=\"669\" height=\"474\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1897\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Radio JOVE users\u2019 radio antenna locations, compared with the 2023 and 2024 eclipse paths. Credit: Radio JOVE, used with permission. They are seeking more users to help with geographic coverage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you like to be still and <\/span><b>hear the sounds around you<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, try <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eclipsesoundscapes.org\/citizen-science-project\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eclipse Soundscapes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This project asks volunteers to take audio recordings of ambient sounds during eclipses. Eclipse Soundscapes also works to enable everyone, including people who are visually impaired, and others who were unable to see the eclipse with their own eyes, to experience the event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JZ9kP7-Vc40\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help spread the word<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re an <\/span><b>undergraduate student or amateur astronomer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, help get the word out about upcoming eclipses by applying to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/astrosociety.org\/education-outreach\/amateur-astronomers\/eclipse-ambassadors\/program.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eclipse Ambassadors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program run by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Undergrads and amateur astronomers will pair up and be provided with everything you need to get the word out to your community <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">off<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the eclipse path, like virtual training, resources including glasses, partnerships and a supportive community of eclipse enthusiasts. As a NASA partner, you will be recognized for your commitment to astronomy public engagement and supplied with educational materials as well as community connections. Note: all engagement is done to prepare your community before the 2024 eclipse &#8211; there is no obligation to host eclipse day events. Undergraduate students can also receive a small stipend and the chance for a larger opportunity to experience the aurora in a field school after the Big Year.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take part in science communication<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An opportunity for our <\/span><b>Heliophysicist <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">friends, and other <\/span><b>Subject Matter Experts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: you can apply to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/scope.asu.edu\/big-helio-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SCOPE project<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to participate in and support solar science events with the general public, uniting the outreach efforts of NASA\u2019s Science Activation projects with the Heliophysics Big Year. To encourage broader participation in the educational outreach efforts of NASA\u2019s Science Activation teams, funding will be provided to support your time and effort.They are especially seeking early career participants from communities underrepresented in STEM. See <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/scope.asu.edu\/big-helio-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the listing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for full eligibility requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going Global<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last but not least, <\/span><b>Canadians <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.asc-csa.gc.ca\/eng\/astronomy\/eclipses\/solar-eclipses.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eclipse information<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the Canadian Space Agency. There is also a French-language <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.eclipsequebec.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00c9clipse Qu\u00e9bec<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> initiative, which aims to include a mobile app, eclipse glasses, events, teacher resources, and an Ambassador Program for university students. According to N. Nguyen-Quoc Ouellette, who gave a recent presentation on Canadian eclipse opportunities, there will also be task forces by Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. <\/span><b>Other global participation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can happen via the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.arrl.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amateur radio community<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as eclipses affect the Earth\u2019s atmosphere in a way <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/thousands-of-amateur-radio-operators-measured-the-solar-1826147318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">radios can measure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and by getting creative with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spaceappschallenge.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NASA Space Apps Challenges<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Stay tuned for more information!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1898\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1898\" style=\"width: 692px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HBY-menu-2_1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1898\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HBY-menu-2_1.png\" alt=\"Infographic showing HBY activities-- see pdf\" width=\"692\" height=\"519\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">To help better keep track of all the things, we made a little menu. <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/HBY-menu.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clickable pdf here<\/a> for sharing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Countdown Begins<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m excited to kick off the Heliophysics Big Year. As someone who is both a space physicist and an avid citizen scientist, I think the Big Year represents a great chance to spread out the huge peak of interest in eclipses into participation and increased awareness of our science, with joy, curiosity, and equity. I hope you will join us through one or more of these opportunities and stay tuned for more ways to participate that are coming soon. Be thinking of how you want to celebrate a #heliobigyear and which projects you may try.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resources<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heliophysics Big Year <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/sun\/helio-big-year\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1N0_TzAt6RDerruqOMvKTQllJZWASRP8L\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whole deck of slides<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about Eclipse opportunities from a session at this year\u2019s American Astronomical Society conference<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/aas241eclipsedeck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deck<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about the Big Year that includes slides about all of the involved community science projects<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NASA Eclipses <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/solarsystem.nasa.gov\/eclipses\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NASA Science Activation <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/learners\/science-activation-teams?field_division_tid=All&amp;field_phase_tid=29\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">teams<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including many of the projects mentioned in this post<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Guest post by Dr. Liz MacDonald The Heliophysics Big Year will celebrate solar science and its connection with our world; Heliophysics itself is the study of our Sun and how it interacts with everything in our solar system. Inspired by the \u201cBig Year\u201d concept in birding, this will be a personal quest to experience and&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=1906\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Coming soon: the Heliophysics Big Year<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,31,17],"tags":[20,21,28],"class_list":["post-1906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-citizen-science","category-helio-big-year","category-other-resources-for-aurora-hunters","tag-auroras","tag-citizen-science","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2441,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906\/revisions\/2441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}