[ ChatModerator - 2 - 13:05:13 ]
In preparation for the event, if you haven't done so already, please read Jack's biography at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/sso/team/ireland.html and come to the chat tomorrow armed with questions!

[ ChatModerator - 6 - 02:11:29 ]
RE: [Santiago/CPO] What´s PDT?
PDT is Pacific Daylight Time. It's a time zone seven hours behind Universal Time.

[ ChatModerator - 7 - 02:14:32 ]
RE: [Anna] Hi! Would you please tell me what time will be in El Salvador when yours will be 2:30 am. I am wanna be ready for this great event! Thanks!
When it's 2:30AM in the Pacific Time Zone, it's 3:30AM in El Salvador.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 8 - 02:16:35 ]
RE: [Santiago/CPO] What´s PDT?
I think PDT means Pacific Daylight Time, a reference to the time on the western seaboard to the US.

[ ChatModerator - 9 - 02:18:24 ]
Good morning everyone (or good day, or good evening, depending on where you are). Our chat with Jack Ireland will begin in about 5-10 minutes. Please send your questions in. We will try to have as many answered as possible.

[ ChatModerator - 10 - 02:31:13 ]
Good morning everyone. NASA's Quest Project is pleased to be able to bring you this QuestChat with Jack Ireland, solar physicist as part of our Eclipse99 activities.

[ ChatModerator - 11 - 02:32:17 ]
The chat is now underway and you can begin sending questions in. Since this chat is moderated, you won't see your questions appear until they are approved. We will try and answer as many as possible.

[ ChatModerator - 12 - 02:33:50 ]
Jack - I wonder if you could begin by briefly telling us what you do at GSFC.

[ ChatModerator - 16 - 02:40:51 ]
RE: [sugesh] can i really see this eclipse live on the net i mean to say that will the screen be java enabled mean to say will be moving
Yes, many sites are currently carrying the eclipse. Check out http://headlines.yahoo.com/FC/Science/Solar_Eclipse/ for a list.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 17 - 02:46:48 ]
Hi, well, I am currently employed by the European Space Agency - the european equivalent to NASA in America - to do research into the physics of the Sun. Some of the questions we want to answer are - what makes solar flares work? and, what causes these huge explosions - called coronal mass ejections - on the Sun? Sometimes the gas from solar flares and coronal mass ejections impacts on the earth's magnetic field, which can disrupt electronics on earth (such as telephones, for instance). This involves me making observations with some of our current sun observing spacecraft such as SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) and TRACE (Transition region And Coronal Explorer. The cool thing is, though, I get to plan these observations and then program the spacecraft to do them. SOHO is a million miles away from earth and TRACE orbits the Earth so it's kind of cool to think of all these far flung spacecraft doing what I want! Of course, there are plenty of other scientists all over the world who have the same opportunities too.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 18 - 02:51:37 ]
RE: [sugesh] if we look at the sun directly is it that only our eyes will be damaged or it can have an adverse effect on our skin
Your eyes can be damaged by looking directly at the Sun - there is an awful lot of energy in sunlight which can basically cook' your retina. I would avoid looking at the Sun directly The sun also produces some ultraviolet light that can damage your skin, which can lead to cancer.

[ ChatModerator - 22 - 02:56:16 ]
Hello - please continue to post your questions for our guest, Jack Ireland. We will post and answer as many as possible. The chat will be running for about another half hour.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 23 - 02:59:46 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] Some believe our sun will has gone intoa T-Tauri state via evidence by Apollo astronsuts to the moon who saw glassy patches on covered lumps of soil. Will our sun go into T-Tauri stae again?
The Sun will remain pretty much as it is for the next few billion years. Once it reaches the end of it's life it will swell up and become a red giant - then the Sun will have a radius of about 93 million miles, engulfing the Earth. But that's in a few billion years.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 26 - 03:05:06 ]
RE: [Carla] look towards the north not far from cancer a comet is approaching the sun in the ecliptic plane it will only be visable at the time of the eclipse what is the chance of this comet hitting our planet as we to the other side of the sun.would it hit near the mid-atlantic ridge arriving at that angle.
The chances of any celestial object - like a comet - hitting the Earth are very, very small. The Earth really is a very small target in the Solar system. For instance, the solar system is about 4 billion miles wide and the earth less than about 4000 miles. So we are are a tiny fraction of the size of the whole solar system

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 27 - 03:08:59 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] How can I tell the difference between sun spots and marks on my solor filter when viewing the sun?
Sunspots usually appear in clusters on the Sun, so that might help you tell the difference between. Also, they tend to appear at certain latitudes on the Sun, from about the equator up to 30 degrees north and south.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 28 - 03:11:36 ]
RE: [MrHumberto] Jack It´s true that the maya civilization predict this eclipse
While it is certainly true that mayan civilisation did have a developed astronomy, I do not know of they made any specific predictions for this eclipse. Sorry.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 32 - 03:14:51 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] Have you heard of PHD Paul LaViolette and his book "Earth Under Fire"?
no - I have not encountered that book.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 33 - 03:15:37 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] Have you heard of Dr. Michio KaKu and his book "Hyperspace"?
Sorry to say,but I have not read this book either.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 36 - 03:19:07 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] What are your theories on why the sun is hotte in the outlying corona?
This is the subject of much ongoing debate in the solar community. There are two competing theories - one in which the energy in various types of waves are used to heat the corona, and the other in which the energy in the coronal magnetic field heats the corona. At present, there is not enough observational evidence to say which theory best fits the observations.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 37 - 03:22:34 ]
RE: [MrHumberto] Does the eclipse affects the photosintesis, sorry about my english
I suppose since the amount of light reaching the plant is much less, an eclipse does affect photosynthesis. But an eclipse does not last for very long so the effect will be very small.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 39 - 03:27:30 ]
RE: [Rebecca/SeattleWa] Can I see granulation or solor flares viewing the sun with my 6" reflector telescope/with solor filter of course?
Granulation has a lengthscale of around 700 km, so that is quite small. Spacelab II, operated by the Lockheed group, managed to observe granules with a 25cm aperture telescope, but that was from space. I would have thought the chances would be small.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 40 - 03:30:12 ]
RE: [Kris/EmporiaKansasUSA] I have heard that solar flares tend to run in cycles. Do you hope to see some larger prominences during the eclipse?
Solar flares run with the solar cycle. As for prominences, some eclipses show prominences and others don't. A new way to spot if there were any prominences during the eclipse is to check out the SOHO real time images at http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov .

[ ChatModerator - 41 - 03:31:40 ]
That's all the time we have for questions today for Jack Ireland. Jack - - I join all of our participants today in thanking you for being with us and answering questions.

[ ChatModerator - 42 - 03:33:07 ]
NASA's Quest Project hosts chats, like this one, on a regular basis. The schedule of events is posted at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events. Check there often and we hope to see all of you at other events. Thanks for being with us.

[ JackIreland/SolarPhysicist - 43 - 03:33:19 ]
RE: [ChatModerator] That's all the time we have for questions today for Jack Ireland. Jack - - I join all of our participants today in thanking you for being with us and answering questions.
My pleasure! thanks, Jack.