A Langley Intern Traveled 1,340 Miles to View a Total Solar Eclipse. Here’s What She Saw.

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A Langley Intern Traveled 1,340 Miles to View a Total Solar Eclipse. Here’s What She Saw.

Emma Friedman, an Office of Communications intern at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, understood that the total solar eclipse on April 8^th, 2024, was an out-of-this-world opportunity she couldn’t miss.

Equipped with the proper eye protection, I traveled over one thousand miles to Dallas, Texas, to be in the eclipse’s path of totality. As I got situated in a park near the city, I was excited—I’d read books and seen photos of what an eclipse looked like and knew what to expect, but I also knew that seeing it in person would be something greater than fiction. Slowly but surely, the Moon took more and more “bites” out of the sun, until I saw the last little peek of light before the darkness; this is known as the “diamond ring effect.”

Before I had time to process any of it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A silence fell across the park—even the birds stopped chirping—and I held my breath. All you could hear was the rustling of branches. What was a warm spring day was now a cold, dark dusk. It felt like the world had flipped on its head—first slowly, and then all at once. What the Sun had just seconds before lit was now a black void. The glow I saw around the Sun was its outer atmosphere, known as the corona. It was a moving sight, but why did I travel so far to experience it? Surely a viewing of a total eclipse was not in need of a plane ride.

It’s actually more complicated than simply waiting for the Moon to drift in front of the Sun. You have to be in the right place at the right time in a region called the “path of totality.”

As a Maryland local, seeing a total solar eclipse from my home would be impossible during this eclipse. Despite eclipses being relatively common, it is a bit more challenging to see the Moon totally block out our Sun.
I spoke to Atmospheric Scientist and expert, Marilé Colón Robles, about the so-called “eclipse chasing” people like me took part in.

“Solar eclipses happen every eighteen months or so, so they are pretty common. To see a total solar eclipse is more challenging because a limited amount of the Earth’s surface is in the path of totality at any given time. Because the world is mostly made up of oceans, your chances of seeing a total eclipse from where you live is small. If, by chance, a total eclipse is happening near you, it’s best to travel to it.”

One team from NASA Langley did something similar by traveling to Houlton, Maine, to broadcast the eclipse in the path of totality. The broadcast showcases the moments before, during, and after the total solar eclipse. Another team of researchers from NASA Langley traveled to Fort Drum, N.Y., also located in the path of totality, to study changes in the weather during the total solar eclipse using a specially modified drone flying at 10,000 feet.

You can see my time lapse of the total solar eclipse below. Needless to say, the plane ride was worth it, and I was fortunate to enjoy one of the most cinematic and humbling phenomena that an Earthling can experience.

April 8^th was the last total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. for another 20 years. You can watch NASA’s broadcast of the eclipse here.

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Media Invited to Learn About NASA’s New Solar Sail Technology 

Media are invited to learn about NASA’s next-generation solar sail technology – known as the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System – that could enable ambitious lower-cost missions to expand our understanding of the Sun and solar system. 

The event will occur from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16, at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Project researchers will be available to discuss the solar sail technology, which uses the pressure of sunlight to travel through space much like a sailboat uses wind to traverse the ocean. A full-scale engineering design unit of the polymer sail and its novel lightweight composite booms will also be on display at the event. 

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is scheduled to launch during a 30-day window that opens no earlier than Wednesday, April 24 aboard a Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. The system is a part of a “12U” sized CubeSat and will deploy after on-orbit systems checks, which are expected to take approximately two months.    

Media interested in attending must contact Joe Atkinson at joseph.s.atkinson@nasa.gov no later than noon, Monday, April 15.     

NASA Langley designed and built the deployable composite booms and solar sail system. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, manages the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System project and designed and built the on-board camera diagnostic system. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program office based at NASA Ames and within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), funds and manages the mission. NASA’s Game Changing Development program within STMD developed the deployable composite boom technology. Rocket Lab USA, Inc of Long Beach, California is providing launch services.    

Learn more about ACS3 at: https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-next-generation-solar-sail-boom-technology-ready-for-launch/

Joe Atkinson  

Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia  

757-755-5375  

joseph.s.atkinson@nasa.gov  

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Julia L. Bradshaw

Sometimes Getting the Perfect Picture Really Is Rocket Science

NASA Engineer Cindy Fuentes Rosal waves goodbye to a Black Brant IX sounding rocket launching from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The rocket was part of a series of three launches for the Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) mission to study the disturbances in the electrified region of Earth’s atmosphere known as the ionosphere created when the Moon eclipses the Sun. The rockets launched before, during, and after peak local eclipse time on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner

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MAF EAP – Upcoming NASA-Wide EAP Programs (April 2024)

Raising Awareness of Substance Use Disorder

April 11, 2024

Join us for an enlightening webinar on raising awareness of Substance Use Disorder (SUD). In this informative session, we’ll delve into the complexities of SUD, exploring its prevalence, impact, and the importance of early detection and intervention. We will discuss effective strategies for recognizing signs of SUD, reducing stigma, and fostering a supportive environment for individuals and communities affected by this issue. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain knowledge, ask questions, and make a difference in the fight against substance abuse.

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024

Time: 11:00 – 12:00 PM CST

Speakers / POCs: EAP Clinicians Dr. Carla Randolph (carla.e.randolph@nasa.gov) and Dr. Sophia Sills-Tailor (sophia.c.sills-tailor@nasa.gov)

Open for ALL NASA EMPLOYEES. To join the meeting, click here.

Navigating Change – Understanding Transitions, Building Resilience, and Fostering Hope

April 18, 2024

QUARTERLY EAP PANEL

Thu 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CST

Upcoming & On-Demand Presentations (sharepoint.com)

All Programs are Archived for later viewing at your convenience. Upcoming & On-Demand Presentations (sharepoint.com)

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Media Invited to NASA’s Student Launch Challenge in Alabama

NASA’s 2024 Student Launch challenge will bring students from colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education groups to launch amateur rockets and payloads Saturday, April 13, starting at 8:30 a.m. CDT at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

Live streaming will begin at 8:20 a.m. CDT on NASA Marshall YouTube and Student Launch Facebook.

Media interested in covering student launch events in person should contact Taylor Goodwin at 938-210-2891.

Seventy teams from 24 states and Puerto Rico are participating this year with 53 teams expected to launch in-person. Any team not traveling to Alabama may conduct final test flights at a home launch field.

NASA also welcomes the return of the Rocket Fair on Friday, April 12, from 3-6 p.m. at the Von Braun Center East Hall in downtown Huntsville. This event is free and open to the public as students display their rockets and answer questions from the media and NASA engineers.

Schedule of Events:

• April 12: Rocket Fair at the Von Braun Center East Hall.
• April 13: Launch Day, gates open at 7 a.m. The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. (or until the last rocket launch) at Bragg Farms. Lawn chairs are recommended. Pets are not permitted.
• April 14:  Tentative rain day on Sunday in case of inclement weather on April 13 starting at 8:30 a.m. at Bragg Farms.

Winners of the student launch will be announced on Friday, June 7 during a virtual awards ceremony once all teams’ flight data has been verified.

About the Competition
Student Launch provides relevant, cost-effective research and development of rocket propulsion systems and reflects the goals of NASA’s Artemis campaign, which seeks to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Each year, the payload component changes to reflect current NASA missions. This year’s payload challenge is inspired by the Artemis missions.

Students will design a SAIL (STEMnaut Atmosphere Independent Lander) payload. It must deploy mid-air, safely return to the ground without using a parachute, and be reusable to launch the same day without repairs or modifications. The payload will contain a crew of STEMnauts, four non-living objects representing astronauts. Students will choose metrics to determine the endurance of the lander, considering acceptable descent and landing parameters.

Middle and high school teams can choose to attempt the lander payload or develop their own science or engineering experiment.

Eligible teams compete for prizes and awards and are scored in nearly a dozen categories including safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement. Teams can also win the Altitude Award in each division based on how close they get to the altitude they projected their rockets would reach months in advance to launch day.

Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM through real-world experiences. Student Launch is a part of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges – a variety of activities exposing students to the knowledge and technology required to achieve the goals of the Artemis missions.

In addition to the NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM project, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the competition.

For more information about Student Launch, please visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-student-launch/

-end-

Taylor Goodwin
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
938-210-2891
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov

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Lauren E. Low