Solar Eclipse 2019: Citizen Science Initiative to Investigate GPS Signals in Chile: Carla Hernandez at the OAE's 3rd Shaw-IAU Workshop

The solar eclipse in Chile 2019, was a perfect opportunity to invite the public to join a scientific investigation through a citizen science initiative. The aim was to gather data that would help us understand how changes in the illumination pattern affect our planet’s ionosphere. Shadowing by the Moon is expected to produce deviations in the Global Positioning System (GPS) accuracy. Our initiative, named "Hago Ciencia", invited people to collect GPS data with their smartphones before, during, and after the eclipse. Participated approximately 5,000 people, providing more than 280,000 geolocation. We found evidence that the positioning accuracy worsened by several decades of meters during the passage of the Moon’s shadow when compared to before and after the time of totality.