Over 750 free devices have been distributed to groups hosting eclipse events to make this year's rare solar event more accessible to blind people.
The day is finally here when people in the Americas will get to witness a total solar eclipse. With the power of their eyes, a major chunk of the population can see the solar event, but unfortunately, people who are blind miss out on this rare phenomenon. With technology advancing in leaps and bounds, scientists have now created a handheld device for the blind which will help them experience the solar eclipse with their ears.
According to a report from Smithsonian Magazine, researchers at Harvard University have developed a small device that will also allow blind or visually impaired people to experience the eclipse by listening. This newfound technology, called Lightsound, receives light from the sun as an input and converts its intensity into musical tones. As of now, this project has a goal of distributing more than 750 free devices to groups hosting eclipse events.
The LightSound device was created in a collaboration between Wanda Díaz-Merced, an astronomer who is blind, and Harvard astronomer Allyson Bieryla. Diaz-Merched spoke to the Associated Press (AP) about the importance of the device and its benefits to the visually impaired. She said, “The sky belongs to everyone. And if this event is available to the rest of the world, it has to be available for the blind, too. I want students to be able to hear the eclipse, to hear the stars.”
On the other hand, Bowling Green State University professor Dr. Kate Dellenbusch showed 13 Action News how the device works. Demonstrating the device, she said, “The device has a light sensor kind of on the chip that’s behind the hole there. So, that light sensor is detecting how much light there is, hitting it all the time and converting that into sound, where it’s having a presenting a higher pitch when there’s more light and a lower pitch when there’s less light (sic)."
The introduction of Lightsound will bring joyous news to the blind community as over the years they have been deprived of witnessing eclipses. With this one-of-a-kind device at their disposal, will be able to hear and feel the event—which itself is a unique phenomenon.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth and, for a short time, completely blocks the face of the sun, according to NASA. For now, a total solar eclipse will happen in North America on April 8 with countries like Canada, Mexico, and the United States experiencing this rare solar event. It has been said that the event this year will have a wider reach as it will be stretching coast to coast, making landfall in Mexico and moving across 15 US states to exit over Canada.
A report from Forbes claims that the next solar eclipse will occur on March 30, 2033, meaning if fellow Americans miss out on this solar phenomenon, then they might have to wait nine years for the next one.
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