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| Paper: |
Diffraction and Superposition with Leafy Trees During Partial Solar Eclipses |
| Volume: |
516, Celebrating the 2017 Great American Eclipse: Lessons Learned from the Path of Totality |
| Page: |
453 |
| Authors: |
Montgomery, M. M.; Allen, B.; Eberly, M.; Carpenter Jr., J. |
| Abstract: |
During partial eclipses on bright sunny days, hundreds of similarly-oriented crescent shapes are seen on bright concrete pavement below leafy green trees, many of which are in linear patterns. However, when that same pavement is observed before or after the eclipse, hundreds of circular Sun shapes are not seen. Also, the light/dark contrast of the eclipsed crescent shapes is significantly sharper than that of the out-of-eclipse circular Sun shapes. We suggest that the combination of diffraction with the principle of superposition produces these multiple projections. We use amateur astronomer images taken during peak, and after, the partial solar eclipse of September 21, 2017 as seen from near Raleigh, NC and Dallas, TX to demonstrate this combined effect. We suggest others follow-up with similar studies for comparisons. |
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