Micro-gravity measurements during the total solar eclipse of 9 March 2016 in Indonesia

Since 1950s, several authors have reported the so-called anomalous gravity during the total solar eclipses through various experiments. To address this issue, in the moment of the total solar eclipse of 9 March 2016 passing most regions in Indonesia, we undertook microgravity measurements using two precise gravimeters. The measurements were made at two locations: (1) Poso (central Sulawesi), a location close to the centre passage of the total eclipse and (2) Lembang (West Java), the site of Bosscha Observatory, where the partial solar eclipse occurred. The two sites are selected to measure the possible different influence of the eclipse on aligning the three objects. The measurements were recorded three days before and one day after the eclipse at various intervals from 30 seconds to a short time at 5 seconds. The finer recording was performed several hours before and after the total eclipse. This measurement allowed detailed analysis, not only in time but also in frequency range. A detailed analysis is presented in this paper. We consider all possible geophysical as well as atmospheric effects. The residual data show that the shielding effect, usually thought as responsible factor on anomalous gravity, is not significant. (paper)