Comments on: Solar Sonic Boom: Eclipses May Generate Atmospheric Shocks

By: Stuart Eves

Stuart Eves — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:41:15 +0000

The Foulault pendulum behaviour was described in a New Scientist cover story, entitled "Einstein Eclipsed", which was published in November 2004. That article proposes a gravitational explanation of the phenomenon.

By: john

john — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:49:50 +0000

I like the infrasound idea. I have been sensitive to it in the past.

By: John Mendenhall

John Mendenhall — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:44:16 +0000

Could you please give a reference for the claim about Foucault pendulums?

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:56 +0000

Sounds reasonable. Let's get some weather balloons or sounding rockets up there and see!

Also sounds like a good explanation for the Foucault pendulum phenomenon.

By: Ian O'Neill

Ian O'Neill — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:22:20 +0000

Hi Daniel. Actually, there has been some confusion surrounding the bands as the previous research only explains one aspect of the phenomenon. The next step would be to find a way to measure the infrasound possibly generated during the next eclipse. This is what science is all about, don't go discounting this new theory quite yet…

By: Daniel Fischer

Daniel Fischer — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:50:44 +0000

Unfortunately the paper the BBC story is based on is hard to track down, but on the Solar Eclipse Mailing List the new work isn't taken serious very much anyway - because the shadow band phenomenon was already explained in 1986 to most everyone's satisfaction. It is certainly not "mysterious" as the BBC writer claims.

By: Miguel V.

Miguel V. — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:07:02 +0000

Interesting and relatively easy to test in the next solar eclipse.

By: Hex

Hex — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:31:20 +0000

Try again…The moon is acting as a gravitational lens of the sun, harmonizing the atmosphere with waves of space/time.