Lancelin: Total Solar Eclipse
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| In June 1974 a total solar eclipse occurred over the south-west corner of Western Australia. A team of US scientists and engineers from '''Sandia Laboratories''' arrived in Lancelin 125 km north of Perth with a van, a tracking antenna, two launch pedestals and two 2-stage '''Terrier-Sandhawk''' rockets to launch their experiments during the total eclipse. | In June 1974 a total solar eclipse occurred over the south-west corner of Western Australia. A team of US scientists and engineers from '''Sandia Laboratories''' arrived in Lancelin 125 km north of Perth with a van, a tracking antenna, two launch pedestals and two 2-stage '''Terrier-Sandhawk''' rockets to launch their experiments during the total eclipse. | ||
| - | These rockets carried a telemetry package and a '''photo data acquisition module''' to record the Sun’s coronal temperature distribution by observing the '''Lyman-alpha''' line width. This could only be done for the short time the rockets were above the Earth’s atmosphere. | + | These rockets carried a telemetry package and a '''photo data acquisition module''' to record the Sun’s coronal temperature distribution by observing the width of the '''Lyman-alpha line'''. This could only be done for the short time the rockets were above the Earth’s atmosphere. |
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| [[Image:eclipse map.jpg|left|thumbnail|180px|Umbra (total shadow) dark grey arc; penumbra (partial shadow) mid grey area:<BR>''Image - HM Nautical Almanac Office'']] | [[Image:eclipse map.jpg|left|thumbnail|180px|Umbra (total shadow) dark grey arc; penumbra (partial shadow) mid grey area:<BR>''Image - HM Nautical Almanac Office'']] | ||
Revision as of 08:00, 11 April 2007
350 Km south of Lancelin:
Photo - Mick Wolf
In June 1974 a total solar eclipse occurred over the south-west corner of Western Australia. A team of US scientists and engineers from Sandia Laboratories arrived in Lancelin 125 km north of Perth with a van, a tracking antenna, two launch pedestals and two 2-stage Terrier-Sandhawk rockets to launch their experiments during the total eclipse.
These rockets carried a telemetry package and a photo data acquisition module to record the Sun’s coronal temperature distribution by observing the width of the Lyman-alpha line. This could only be done for the short time the rockets were above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Image - HM Nautical Almanac Office
The rockets were successfully launched in view of a small group of spectators at 13.11 West Australian time and reached a height of 320 km. A little while later the telemetry technicians, on a recovery boat, winched the research packages out of the sea off the Lancelin coast.
A display of the launcher and a ‘dummy’ rocket can be seen at the Bullcreek Aviation Museum, near Perth.
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