Here is my submission to the 2017 Breakthrough Challenge. In this video I discuss parts of the immune system and how it works.
South Korea Population Campaign
Check out this interactive image I made about South Korea's population campaigns over the last couple decades. Learn about South Korea's population campaign that worked "too well" and caused the fertility rate to drop from 4.5 to 1.08 from 1970 to 2005, and the new Vision 2020 Plan that was introduced in 2006. Hover over each of the symbols on the campaign poster below to read more information:
The Total Solar Eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017
As most people have heard, a total solar eclipse occurred earlier this week on Monday, August 21st. A total solar eclipse is when the moon moves in between the earth and the sun, causing the sky to go dark and only the sun's corona to be seen. Total coverage of the sun can be seen along the path of totality, which was a path through the United States starting in Oregon and ending on the other side of the US, South Carolina. A total solar eclipse is so special because the moon usually passes a bit too high or low to completely cover the sun, causing partial eclipses, not a total eclipses. In addition, when the moon and sun do line up perfectly, it is usually over the ocean where very little people can see it.
During my environmental science class, my classmates went outside to look at the sun (not without our special sunglasses!) and to take some data. In the San Francisco Bay Area there was only about 75% coverage because San Francisco is not on the path of totality. The following table shows the temperature of the dirt while the total solar eclipse was happening.
Surface Temperature of the Dirt
As shown in the table and graph, the temperature reduced drastically as more and more of the sun was covered during the solar eclipse, with the lowest temperature, 66°F occurring just after totality.
In addition to the temperature dropping, the clouds also cleared as totality approached, then reappeared after totality had ended.
10:04am - clouds were grey and were covering the sun 10:12am - less clouds in the sky, more clouds disappearing 10:18am - (during totality) very little clouds, clouds still disappearing 10:26am - clouds almost completely disappeared, sky turned slightly darker 10:34am - clouds reappeared, clouds were white, sky was still slightly darker
Watching the solar eclipse was an amazing experience! At first, I thought it was a bit weird that we were using completely dark sunglasses that I couldn't see anything through, and using/making all sorts of other contraptions to try to look at the eclipse, but when I saw the sun through the cereal view boxes and the special eclipse glasses, it was amazing! I thought that it was so great that we could watch as the sun slowly got smaller and smaller as the moon covered it. It was also fascinating that we could feel such a difference in temperature during totality; the temperature dropped about 12°F since the beginning of the eclipse! Overall, it was fun to not only experience the eclipse for myself, but watching my classmates watch the eclipse and smiling after they took off the sunglasses, exclaiming "That looks so cool!" I'm sad that it was over so quickly, but grateful that I was able to go outside to experience the eclipse! I wonder if I'll ever see another total eclipse in my lifetime, maybe in another country?
Thanks to Lauren Alvarez and Caroline Divney for providing the cloud pictures!