Abstract
CHIMONAS1 predicted that the ‘cooling spot’ of the lunar shadow of an eclipse, which travels at supersonic speeds through the atmosphere, is a continuous source of atmospheric gravity waves. These gravity waves show up by their interaction with the ionosphere and can be detected using standard radio techniques. Total electron content measurements2 in the USA at a distance of several thousand km from the path of totality, detected oscillations which were attributed to a solar eclipse in agreement with the theory of Chimonas3. Measurements made during the 1973 central African eclipse4 failed to detect any oscillations, although these results may have been obscured by the occurrence of a magnetic storm at the same time. We present here the results of measurements made on the angle of arrival of a high frequency radio wave inside the path of totality of an eclipse, which took place on 23 October 1976.
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References
Chimonas, G. J. Geophys. Res. 75, 5545 (1970).
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BAULCH, R., BUTCHER, E. Atmospheric waves in the ionosphere due to total solar eclipse. Nature 269, 497–498 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269497a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269497a0
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