The INAF-Turin Astrophysical Observatory has organized a campaign for the observation in Torreon, Mexico, of the total solar eclipse on  April 8, 2024, a unique opportunity for investigating the physics of the corona. 

The team made up of 7 researchers and technologists and a student, 2 days before the date of the eclipse, decided, given the not encouraging weather forecasts for cloud cover, to split themselves between two different observation sites to maximize the probability of acquiring data. So 4 remained in Ciudad Juarez, near Torreon and another 4 moved 280 km to Canatlán, in the province of Durango.

The scientific expedition has brought 3 instruments: a telescope for the observation of the polarized K corona (E-KPol) and two telescopes for the spectro-polarimetric observations of the Fe XIV coronal lines at 530.3 nm (the “green line”) and He I D3 at 587.6 nm (E-CorMag and Strato-CorMag). The measurements that have been acquired during the eclipse (some never done before) offer a unique opportunity to study the coronal magnetic field very close to the solar limb. The observations acquired during the eclipse are included in a joint observational campaign, coordinated by the network WHPI.

The weather conditions were quite good and the two teams managed to acquire images and data.
It was a real adventure starting from the preparation of the scientific mission until the moment of the eclipse itself. Stay tuned for updates on the analysis of the acquired data.