Is they dont take a case unless someone has died. Announcer watched tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan two book tv. Announcer now a house hearing on the Research Conducted during the total Solar Eclipse of august 21, and how events like the eclipse can help generate Student Interest in scientific fields. This is one hour and 20 minutes. Rep. Comstock the committee on science, space and technology will come to order. The objection the chair is authorized to declare recessed as a committee at any time. Good morning and welcome to todays hearing entitled the Great American eclipse to totality and beyond. I recognize myself for an opening statement, but im going to submit most of my prepared statement for a record. We need to finish the hearing before votes are called around 10 30 a. M. , so apologies for truncating things. We will be inspired by our witnessing today Witnesses Today and harnessing the enthusiasm for the eclipse we saw when people really came together. I know my husband had was with the cereal box doing this. He is a math teacher. He was really excited. So we really are excited to see this whole generation of students who are interested in this and would like to now translate that into stem careers. Excited to hear from our Witnesses Today. Im going to shorten up and submit my statement for the record and then im going to now recognize the Ranking Member , the gentleman from california, mr. Barra. Dr. Bera the eclipse is absolutely exciting. To the Science Center in sacramento. What was great about it was the number of kids that were out there. They had their glasses. And the number of amateur astronomers. Me of theds excitement growing up with the Apollo Program and the generation of scientists that spawned and encouraged people to go into science. We were at goddard with my staff visiting with the helio scientists out there. They were talking about the science program. Name, butmember the she was one of the most enthusiastic people i have seen. If we can have more of this enthusiasm and excitement, it will generate a generation of kids wanting to get into science. I will keep my comments short, i will yield yield back and im excited to hear what you have to say. Rep. Comstock i recognize the chairman of the committee for another statement. Thank you. In august, millions of americans turned their eyes to the sky to a solara rare event, eclipse. It was a profound experience for anyone fortunate enough to be in the path of totality, and exciting for those who witnessed a partial eclipse. And eclipse is a site that has inspired previous generations and one i hope will inspire a whole new group of young people to study the universe and beyond. It was a 1878 american eclipse that inspired a young inventor, thomas edison. He took a trip to wyoming and viewed the Solar Eclipse, in an attempt to study the suns outer atmosphere. The experiment failed, but allowed him to think about the principals of light and power. The very next year invented the he invented the incandescent light bulb. Who knows what discoveries this years eclipse will inspire but , but we do know it has already generated an enthusiasm for astronomy, astrophysics and astrobiology. Of nasa, the good work nsf and their partners, that enthusiasm was converted to viewing parties, Stem Education lessons, and Citizen Science engaging millions of americans. We have the privilege of hearing from a panel of witnesses who helped make the day a success. I thank our witnesses and look forward seeing their incredible photos and videos. Learning what scientific discoveries may come from experiments conducted during the eclipse, and hearing whats next for solar science. Its human nature to seek out the unknown and discover more about the universe around us. We have an extraordinary opportunity to turn enthusiasm for the Great American eclipse into a renewal of american physics and astronomy that lasts far beyond the two minutes of totality. We yield back. Rep. Comstock thank you. I now recognize the chairman of the space subcommittee, dr. Bauman, for an opening statement. Thank you. I want to thank our colleagues and witnesses that have come forth in this interesting hearing. Something that struck me about this eclipse is the level of excitement that it generated all across the United States. The eclipse was something that really brought us all together in our inspiration and awe. I want to also add that nasas web traffic during the eclipse skyrocketed. Peaked seven times higher than the previous record. The online viewing audience compare would the audience of the super bowl and even netflix lost 10 of the days viewership of the eclipse. And schools across the country incorporated the eclipse into their teaching programs. Theres no telling how it sparked the imagination of schoolkids and captured their fascination. I thoroughly enjoyed myself showing and explaining to our schoolchildren in the district, including my own grandchildren, the little cereal boxes that the chairwoman just talked about that we made. They are solar viewer projectors , i think is what the real name is. But it was one of those rare wonderful events that was exciting to the Scientific Community as it was to the man on the street. Was an inspiration to the youth and brings to mind an interesting comparison in a way that the 2017 Solar Eclipse is almost like a Space Mission that was brought into our own back yards. Im very excited about the upcoming 2024 eclipse, which in my opinion, can be even more impressive and awe inspiring. Not the least because the path to totality for this eclipse travels right across my home state of texas. I want to thank you all for your testimony and looking forward to it. And i yield back, madam chair. Rep. Comstock thank you and i will now introduce our witnesses. Our first witness today is dr. James ulvestad, acting assistant director for mathematical and physical sciences at the National Science foundation. Prior to the nsf, he was assistant director of the radio astronomy observatory where he over saw the very large array and baseline array radio telescopes. He is also served in various capacities at the nasa jet propulsion laboratory. Received his bachelor of arts degree in astronomy from the university of california in los angeles and phd in astronomy from the university of maryland. Our second witness today is dr. Thomas im going to let you [laughter] he previously served as a professor of Space Science and Aerospace Engineering at the university of michigan. He has worked on several Nasa Missions including ulysses. He earned his masters of sands in physics from the university of bern in switzerland. Our third witness is dr. Heidi hammel executive Vice President , of the university of research and astronomy. That is a group of u. S. 34 universities and institutions that operate world class astronomical observatories, including hubble, the National Optical astronomy observatory, the National Solar observatory and the gemini observatory. Since 2003, she has served as one of six interdisciplinary scientists assisting nasa on the james web space telescope. She received her undergraduate from an i. T. And phd in physics and astronomy from the university of hawaii. Our fourth witness today is dr. Matthew penn, astronomer at the National Solar observatory in arizona. He is a Principal Investigator on the citizens continental telescope eclipse experiment or citizen cate. A telescope scientist. Specifically he works on the dkist telescope project under construction in hawaii developing infrared science and instrumental requirements. He received his bachelor of science degree and astronomy from cal tech as well as from a phd from the university of hawaii. Our fifth witness today is miss michelle nicholsyehling director of public observing , the Adler Planetarium in chicago. She shows programs and events for the guests here she also leads the various telescope observatory and sky observing efforts. She earned hes bachelors of science degree in physics and astronomy from the university of illinois and masters of education in curriculum and instruction from national st. Louis university. Dr. The listed ulvestad for his testimony. Thank you. Dr. James ulvestad im acting assistant director for mathematical and physical science directors at the National Science foundation and thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I want to focus my remarks on the large scale out reach associate would with the eclipse. As you said, august 21 was an exciting day for citizens and scientists alike, as our nation was center stage for the total Solar Eclipse, the first since 1979 in the continental u. S. So scientists and spectators , from around the world gathered across this country to witness this extraordinary event. The eclipse was a total Solar Eclipse, where direct sunlight was blocked for over two minutes when the moon covered the sun. It made its way from oregon to south carolina, eliminating it 70 mile wide path across 14 states. The rest of the continental u. S. Experienced a percentage of a partial eclipse during the 90 minute traverse across the country. Is the basis for life on earth. Its Magnetic Field and atmosphere fuel space weather that affects earths power grids and communications systems. This leads the anna faris nsf to Broader Research related to our local star. We track the development of sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections. They work to better understand how these phenomena are associate would the magnetic with the suns Magnetic Field, which influences the space weather events that can wreak havoc on our technology. During the eclipse, the hyatt altitude observatory at the nsf center for Atmospheric Research in partnership with the Harvard Smithsonian center for astrophysics flu and airborne infrared spectrometer inside the gulfstream five research aircraft. This instrument collected infrared data to probe the complex magnetic environment of the suns corona. Of course, there are no results yet as they will come out over the next year or two. Researchers in general continue to study the behavior of the sun to develop learnings of solar storms that may be coming towards earth. So the Global Oscillations Network Group of nsfs National Solar observatory, a network of six solar monitoring telescopes cited worldwide provides , fulltime monitoring of the sun and critical element of sports casting models. So let me move to the eclipse and some of the outreach efforts. First, i want to say here that any funding that the federal government put into this was leveraged by a factor of 1000 by ia, high school students, random citizens, and amateur astronomers who engaged with the public. I really want to thank them for that. One of the activities that the chairwoman already mentioned was , continental american telescope eclipse. That included a network of 68 identical telescopes based along of totality, path operated by citizen scientists, high school groups, and universities. The nsf director, shown on this slide, was pleased to be in wyoming, which i think had a 100,000 increase in population for one day to experience the Solar Eclipse and participate in citizen cate outreach. You will hear more about this from dr. Matt penn. The nsf also funded the astronomical program called Solar Eclipse across america. This included a mini grant that funded 31 projects in 21 states. Now as far as the future goes, by early 2020, nsfs solar telescope, the new center piece of the National Solar observatory, will be complete on maui, hawaii. It will provide researchers an unprecedented closeup view of the solar corona without having to wait for a Solar Eclipse. The enhanced understanding of the sun and the origin of solar storms will undoubtedly contribute to better space weather predictions in the future. The Solar Eclipse was a great opportunity for Scientific Research and it is an engagement in an event that brought a sense of wonder and curiosity to citizens alike. The basic Research Conducted will revolutionize our understanding of the sun in the future. Were looking forward to the next eclipse in 2024. There will also be an annual eclipse in 2023. So a six month ahead rehearsal and were pleased to enjoy the support of the public in fulfilling our role. We thank the subcommittee members for their ongoing support of nsf and our efforts to serve the people of the United States. Rep. Comstock we now recognize doctors herbage and dr. Thomas zurbuchen. Madam chair, members of the subcommittee, i represent the thousands of volunteers, partners and nasa employees who made the 2017 eclipse the biggest media event in nasa. I would like to discuss nasas experience with the eclipse, our highlight the results of our science and stem efforts and discuss how important heliophysics is for nasas missions. Monday, august 21st, solar clips across the continental u. S. Occurred for the first time in almost a century. I will share with you my own vantage point, which was 45,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean in an aircraft outfitted with experiments to capture before, during, and after the event. It was really breathtaking. Watch. [video clip] look. Incredible wow do you see the lines . Wow. Its absolutely amazing. Just look at this background. Were in the middle of a dark cloud. So its popping back out. There it comes. Wow. See the ring around it. Thats the solar ring. So cool. Unbelievable. Ive done research on this for 25 years. Ive never seen it, you know. Dr. Thomas zurbuchen so i was excited, you may be able to tell. I was so excited i mixed up the colors. Its called a diamond ring, not the solar ring. If you want to quote that. Anyway our nasa team and , scientists have been planning for this eclipse for many years. With me at the hearing is dr. Alex young. Our project manager has been a champion for the eclipse and working with the nasa team for over three years. The team focused on key ,riorities safety, science and Citizen Science education, and Public Engagement. To accomplish these priorities, we knew we couldnt do it alone. The had entire agency rallied and each of our 10 centers led events,nctions and partnering broadly. The eclipse was the biggest science outreach event in modern science history, working with citizens across 14 states, nearly 7000 libraries 200 , museums, planetary and Science Centers, 40 Challenger Centers 20 national parks, zoos and even , baseball stadiums. More than 50 million unique viewers watched across multiple nasa and media platforms and 90 million page views on the eclipse day alone on the nasa website. These numbers exceed previous records by many times over. It was really clear not only professionals were deeply moved by it, but amateurs alike. This is truly moving. Thats what nasa science does for us every day. Showing now our views of the Solar Eclipse from various nasa assets 11 of them were focused , on this unique event as well as three aircraft. In fact, when looking at the eclipse, i could not help myself thinking of the solar probe launching next year, which will travel closer to the sun then which will revolutionize our understanding of the sun, which is really the Rosetta Stone of understanding of all stars in the universe. Additionally, we could take advantage of unique opportunities provided by the eclipse to do science. We will continue to improve after the launching later on our understanding and capabilities for what is happening to the region at the edge of space. We also want to stress Citizen Science. Im going to let matt talk about this. Its valuable to have science done by citizens, not just professionals, and theres true value with this, not just here but elsewhere. With safety a top priority, we published protocols on our websites and partnered with the American Astronomical Society, nsf, and others to spread the word about eye safety. This proved critical when it was discovered that uncertified solar glasses were making to the market. We owe a debt of gratitude to our partners that help identifying and communicate which glasses were safe. We distributed our 4. 3 million glasses. In closing, let me talk about helio physics, or solar and space physics, which protects and improves life on earth. This total Solar Eclipse provided the unique opportunity of seeing the source of space, whether with our naked eye. The atmosphere of our magnetic star. This corona impacts the earth through the solar wind explosions on the sun, solar flares, and energetic particles effecting our space assets and technological infrastructure. So we want to make these improvements for better use for noaa and the dod. So i too suggest that we start making plans for the next Solar Eclipse<