Image Processing Framework for Eclipse Shadow Band Analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a reusable image-processing framework that quantifies eclipse shadow bands from consumer-grade camera videos, supporting atmospheric research and eclipse analysis.

Contribution

The study presents a novel, quantitative analysis framework for eclipse shadow bands using consumer cameras, validated on real eclipse datasets.

Findings

Detected significant shadow-band activity during eclipse windows.

Identified superimposed shadow band modes with orthogonal orientations.

Showed consumer cameras can support quantitative eclipse shadow analysis.

Abstract

Eclipse shadow bands are transient intensity patterns that can appear on the ground near solar eclipse totality. This study presents a reusable image-processing framework for analyzing shadow-band video recordings collected with consumer-grade cameras. The framework quantifies band orientation, band prominence, and band power spectral density from video recordings. Applied to two eclipse datasets, the method detected statistically significant shadow-band activity during eclipse windows that align with the scintillation theory for shadow bands. The results also highlight simultaneous superimposed eclipse shadow band modes with orthogonal orientations. This demonstrates that consumer grade cameras can support quantitative analysis of shadow bands and may support future observational and atmospheric studies.