10
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In this recurring feature , Sky ’ s Up gives students the opportunity to ask 10 Questions to leading astronomers , space explorers , scientists and cosmologists . o o o The questions for this installment were submitted by students at Truman Middle School in St . Joseph , Mo .
Solar power
As a professional astronomer at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a committed amateur astronomer at home and at his California observatory , Steve Edberg has witnessed countless celestial spectacles . Even with this constant bombardment of new astronomical experiences , his decades-long fondness for eclipses has never dulled . “ My first recollection of seeing a solar eclipse is of the total eclipse that crossed Alaska , Canada and the extreme northeastern U . S . in July 1963 ,” Edberg said . “ My family was visiting Chicago at the time , and I just couldn ’ t convince anyone to make the 800-mile drive to the path of totality . Instead , I just saw the deep partial eclipse there .” Since that fateful day , the self-proclaimed avid eclipse chaser has organized viewing expeditions and observed 16 total eclipses from land , sea and air ; five annular eclipses ; numerous partial eclipses ; and a wide variety of other
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COURTESY OF Steve Edberg
JPL ’ s Steve Edberg shines a light on our favorite star
transitory events involving stars , planets and asteroids . “ The ‘ action ’ in the sky , the alignment and the spectacular views attract me to these events and the others related to total eclipses ,” he said . “ The only similar events with the suspense and adrenaline rush were landings of the space shuttle that I ’ ve seen at Edwards Air Force Base and Kennedy Space Center . In his professional capacity at JPL , Edberg has worked on a variety of NASA projects including the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn . He has served as Coordinator for Amateur Observations for the International Halley Watch and was executive director of the Riverside Telescope Conference , Inc . for 22 years . He also has been honored by the International Astronomical Union with the formal naming of the asteroid 1985QQ as ( 3672 ) Stevedberg . In this installment of 10 Questions , Edberg discusses eclipse phenomena and solar science .
Sky ’ s Up