Mobile Application
Eclipse Soundscapes Mobile Application is sadly NOT funded for the upcoming solar eclipses. The mobile application is not connected to or needed for the currently funded participatory science project under this same Eclipse Soundscapes umbrella.
Intro
The mobile application originally launched to make the “Great American Eclipse” of 2017 accessible to everyone, with a special focus on users who are blind or have low vision. The app includes illustrative audio descriptions of eclipses, as well as an interactive “rumble map” that allows users to conceptualize an eclipse through touch and sound. In the app you can learn about the features of an Annular Solar Eclipse and a Total Solar Eclipse.
Since 2017 it has been made bilingual in English and Spanish and annular eclipse information has been added. We hope to acquire funding so it is ready and available for 2024 but the mobile application is not currently funded for the upcoming 2024 solar eclipse!
Eclipse Soundscapes Apps Are Free to Users
The Eclipse Soundscapes Mobile Application is free of charge to users. ARISA Lab seeks and acquires funding from organizations, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, that support free, accessible science education. Read the Mobile Application Privacy statement here.
Download it in the Apple App Store
Available on Google Play
PROJECT ORIGINS
The idea for Eclipse Soundscapes came from Dr. Henry “Trae” Winter, a solar astrophysicist with a penchant for scientific engagement projects. Winter noticed a deficit in accessibility while building solar wall exhibits for museums. He observed that some “accessible” exhibits merely included the item’s name in braille, while other exhibits — including his own — had no accessibility component at all. Winter began to brainstorm an astrophysics project that would use a multi-sensory approach to engage a larger percentage of the population, including the visually impaired community. The “Great American Eclipse” of August 2017 seemed like the perfect opportunity. With this idea as the inspiration, a team that included astrophysicists, mobile application developers, an educator, members of the BVI community, and accessible media and audiovisual specialists worked together to create the The Eclipse Soundscapes Mobile Application.
TOUCH AN ECLIPSE
The Eclipse Soundscapes’ app features an interactive “rumble map,” which uses a smartphone’s touch screen and vibrational feedback to demonstrate the physical qualities of an eclipse. The rumble map displays photos of the eclipse at various stages. When users touch the image, the app reads the greyscale value of a pixel underneath their finger, and vibrates the phone with a strength relative to the brightness of the section. As users move their fingers around the Sun, their smartphone will vibrate more. As they move their fingers into the dark spaces blocked by the Moon, the vibration will diminish and disappear.