Who we are
31 years / 21 expeditions
Solar Wind Sherpas organizes expeditions to total solar eclipses worldwide. Led by solar physicist Dr. Shadia Habbal, the team installs portable observatories to study the solar corona during totality. Using high-resolution white-light images, narrow-band filters, and spectrometers, they examine the corona’s structure, temperature, and motion to investigate how it is heated and where the solar wind originates.
What we do
We use specialized instruments to study the solar corona. By analyzing its light, we investigate its temperature, structure and connection to the solar wind, adding observations that complement those made by space-based observatories.
Explore the science
Václav Široký
Observing a total solar eclipse starts long before totality. We select observing sites, prepare instruments and bring people and equipment into the field, ready to make the most of a brief opportunity to study the corona.
Explore our latest expedition
We share eclipse science with communities where our expeditions take us. Through talks and educational activities, we explain what happens during an eclipse, introduce our research and help people understand how to observe the event safely.
Discover our outreachWhy we follow eclipses
The corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Its faint visible light is usually lost in the glare of the solar surface. During a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks that glare, giving us a rare opportunity to study the corona from Earth.
Eclipse observations complement measurements from spacecraft and instruments that study the corona throughout the year.
See our expeditions
Expeditions
Observing a total solar eclipse starts long before totality. We select observing sites, prepare instruments and bring people and equipment into the field, ready to make the most of a brief opportunity to study the corona.
See our latest expedition
Latest expedition · 2026
In 2026, our pursuit of total solar eclipses brought us to Burgos, Spain. Discover the setting, the preparation and the people behind this expedition, and the scientific questions that brought us into the field.
Explore the expeditionFilm by Santiago Marrodán Ciordia
Boe et al. · 2018 · ApJ
Observations from the 2015 eclipse helped identify where two types of iron ions settle into the charge states they carry outward with the solar wind, offering clues to conditions near the Sun.
The First Empirical Determination of the Fe¹⁰⁺ and Fe¹³⁺ Freeze-in Distances in the Solar Corona
View publication
Druckmüller et al. · 2014 · ApJ
Detailed processing of eclipse images revealed faint loops, rings and twisted structures, providing new evidence of the corona’s dynamic behavior.
Discovery of a New Class of Coronal Structures in White Light Eclipse Images
View publication
The observing program
Our observations combine high-resolution white-light imaging of the corona with narrow-band filters centred on forbidden emission lines of highly ionized iron, including Fe XI and Fe XIV.
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Support the expeditions, instruments and research that deepen our understanding of the Sun.
Expeditions · Data analysis · Instrumentation · Early-career researchers
Contact
Interested in supporting the project, exploring a collaboration or asking a question? Get in touch.
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