Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse)

Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse)
Name	Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse)
Established	2017
Location	Continental United States

Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) is a distributed observational program that coordinated portable telescope instrumentation and volunteer observers across the United States during a total solar eclipse to produce a continuous time series of the solar corona spanning the path of totality. The project combined efforts from professional astronomers, planetariums, university observatorys, and citizen scientists to capture high-cadence imagery and measure transient coronal phenomena during the 2017 North American eclipse. Its approach integrated logistical planning from institutions such as National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and multiple university research groups.

Overview

Citizen CATE organized a network of portable telescopes along the 2017 eclipse path from the Pacific Ocean coast through the Atlantic Ocean coast to assemble a continuous 90-minute dataset of the inner solar corona. The effort linked academic partners including the National Solar Observatory, Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and University of Colorado Boulder with public venues like Smithsonian Institution museums and local science centers to facilitate mass participation. The project emphasized real-time coordination akin to large-scale campaigns such as Event Horizon Telescope and international collaborations like International Space Station outreach efforts.

Background and Mission

Citizen CATE grew from earlier eclipse campaigns and small-scale projects by National Solar Observatory researchers who sought to extend temporal coverage of the inner corona beyond single-site observations used by teams from Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and university solar groups at Stanford University. The mission aimed to produce a continuous, high-cadence record of coronal dynamics to inform theories developed at institutions such as Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and observational programs like Solar Dynamics Observatory. The project also aligned with public engagement goals promoted by American Astronomical Society and Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Instrumentation and Methodology

Citizen CATE deployed identical, portable refracting telescope assemblies with commercial cameras similar to systems used by teams from California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology planetary groups. The instrumental design incorporated neutral density filters, solar filters used in NOAA campaigns, and motorized tracking adapted from mechanisms developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Methodology leveraged exposure bracketing and automated focus control to capture the dynamic range of the inner corona, employing image stabilization techniques comparable to those used by Hubble Space Telescope ground support teams. Calibration routines referenced solar radiometry standards from National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Participant Network and Training

The network included hundreds of volunteers drawn from astronomy clubs such as Astronomical League, staff from planetariums including Adler Planetarium and Hayden Planetarium, students from universities like University of Arizona and University of Michigan, and professionals from observatories such as Lowell Observatory. Training workshops were held in collaboration with science communication entities like SciStarter and Citizen Science Association, and instruction materials cited best practices from International Astronomical Union outreach guidelines. Logistics involved coordination with local authorities along the path of totality including county governments and emergency services in locations like Idaho Falls and Nashville.

Data Collection and Processing

During totality, each site produced high-cadence video and image sequences that were timestamped using GPS units from manufacturers used by European Space Agency missions. Data pipelines adopted algorithms from solar image-processing groups at University of Hawaii and Montana State University to perform flat-fielding, dark subtraction, and image alignment. Combined mosaicking techniques paralleled methods developed for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and incorporated motion analysis tools similar to those used by SOHO and STEREO mission teams to track coronal brightness changes and transient events.

Scientific Results and Impact

Citizen CATE yielded a continuous dataset that captured rapid coronal dynamics such as wave phenomena and small-scale mass motions, complementing observations from Solar Dynamics Observatory and enhancing comparative studies with coronagraph data from SOHO. Results informed models of coronal heating investigated at institutions like Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley, and contributed to publications in journals such as The Astrophysical Journal and Solar Physics. The dataset provided case studies used by researchers at National Center for Atmospheric Research and Columbia University to refine magnetohydrodynamic simulations and to validate coronal seismology techniques.

Outreach and Education

Citizen CATE also functioned as a major public-engagement initiative, partnering with museums including Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, media outlets such as National Geographic and The New York Times, and educational programs run by NASA Science Mission Directorate. The project trained early-career researchers from programs at Carnegie Institution for Science and facilitated citizen-science contributions cataloged by platforms like Zooniverse. Its outreach legacy influenced subsequent eclipse campaigns and STEM education initiatives promoted by organizations such as National Science Teachers Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Category:Astronomy projects Category:Citizen science