New ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time

Do you wish you could see a total solar eclipse every day? With a new online tool called Eclipse Watch, you can observe the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, in real time with eclipse-like images from space as we count down to the next total solar eclipse on Earth.

The new Helioviewer Eclipse Watch data visualization tool displays images captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) mission stationed one million miles from Earth. Each time you refresh the page, you can see the latest image from the spacecraft. These images showcase some of the features of the Sun that you may also be able to see from the ground on Earth when the Moon completely covers the Sun during the total solar eclipse.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. This celestial event reveals the extended atmosphere of the Sun, which is normally obscured from view by bright sunlight. Hot gas streaming from the surface of the Sun into interplanetary space can be observed during this time.

To study the Sun’s extended atmosphere when a total solar eclipse isn’t happening, scientists can use special telescopes called coronagraphs. These instruments create an artificial eclipse by using a round disk to block out the light from the Sun (the same way the Moon does during an eclipse) and reveal parts of the Sun’s atmosphere that are normally too dim to see.

The Helioviewer Eclipse Watch provides eclipse-like images that are captured over a hundred times each day by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) instrument on the SOHO spacecraft. LASCO observes the Sun’s corona and can identify clouds of material called coronal mass ejections that erupt from the Sun. These images offer a glimpse of what you could witness during the historic celestial event on April 8. LASCO’s disk obscures a larger area than the Moon will block during the total solar eclipse, as indicated by the black circular area in the Eclipse Watch tool. A picture of the Moon is overlaid on the image for scale. This means that during the total eclipse on Earth you will get to see even more of the Sun’s extended atmosphere than LASCO captures.

SOHO launched in 1995 to study our star, from the Sun’s deep core to its outer corona. LASCO is one of 12 instruments on SOHO used to study different solar regions and a constant stream of particles and energy from the Sun called the solar wind. Thousands of comets that pass close to the Sun – called sungrazing comets – have also been discovered in SOHO images.

Countdown to the Eclipse

The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, will pass over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The path of totality in the U.S. stretches from Texas to Maine.

A countdown timer displayed on the Eclipse Watch page indicates when the eclipse will begin in North America on April 8.

If you are inside the path of totality, your views of the eclipse may be similar, or even better, than what LASCO captures every day. Remember to use specialized eye protection for solar viewing except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun.

For more information about eclipses, visit go.nasa.gov/Eclipse2024.

Helioviewer

Eclipse Watch is an extension of Helioviewer – a free and open-source visualization tool supported by NASA’s Solar Data Analysis Center. It’s like using your favorite map app for the Sun! Users select spacecraft instruments and create their own movies of solar phenomena. This tool supports exploratory data analysis and enables researchers to discover, pinpoint, and monitor solar events. A downloadable version called JHelioviewer with 3D movie capability is also available.

By Rose Brunning
Communications Lead
NASA Heliophysics Digital Resource Library (HDRL)

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NASA Langley Participates in Drone Responders Conference

The National Public Safety Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Conference was held at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, March 12-13. NASA Langley engineers presented their work at the conference and staffed a NASA information table, promoting the benefits of NASA technologies and research for drone responders.

“It’s exciting to see the effect drones have on search and rescue operations,” said presenter Ersin Ancel, assistant branch head for the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate. “For example, rescue times have been cut from days to hours to mere minutes. The successful deployment of these aircraft systems is how NASA helps the aviation industry improve public safety.”

This annual event is hosted by DRONERESPONDERS, a non-profit created to unite aerial first responders, emergency managers, and search and rescue specialists so they can learn from one another and facilitate drone operations for public safety. DRONERESPONDERS has a Space Act Agreement with NASA Langley as part of the Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP). 

More than 500 attendees, representing every state in the United States, learned about NASA’s work on System-Wide Safety, Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response and Air Traffic Management Exploration.

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Sondra Woodward

What’s Up: April 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA

Total Eclipse Time!

A total solar eclipse sweeps across the U.S. on April 8. U.S. areas outside totality will enjoy a partial eclipse and can join NASA’s live eclipse webcast!

Highlights

• All month – Jupiter is a brilliant, steady light low in the western sky following sunset.
• April 8 – Total solar eclipse across the U.S., as the Moon’s shadow moves from Texas northward through Maine. Outside the path of totality, the rest of the continental U.S. will experience a partial eclipse. The amount of the Sun covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse depends on your distance from the path of totality.
• April 8-12 – Mars and Saturn rise together in the hour or so preceding sunrise. They’re closest on April 10 & 11 – about half a degree apart, or the width of the full Moon.)
• April 10 – Find the slim lunar crescent (only 7% illuminated) hanging above brilliant Jupiter in the west after sunset. Comet 12P is visible with binoculars or a small telescope about 6 degrees below the Moon, just below and to the right of Jupiter.
• April 23 – Full moon

Transcript

What’s Up for April? Some easy-to-spot planets, there’s still time to observe comet 12P, and how to enjoy this month’s solar eclipse if you’re not in the path of totality.

For several days in the first half of April, early risers can watch Mars and Saturn rising together in the morning. Taking a look about half an hour before sunrise, you can find them low in the east, about 10 degrees above the horizon. They’re at their closest on April 10th and 11th, but still really close in the sky the whole second week of April.

Now, on the evening of April 10th you can find the Moon with Jupiter in the west. Jupiter’s easy to identify as a bright, unflickering light, low in the west following sunset, all month. Being just a couple of days after its “new moon” phase, the Moon shows only 7% of its illuminated surface on this evening, making for a beautiful crescent shining there with the giant planet Jupiter.

This is also a good night to have a look for comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which has been getting brighter, and is easily observable with binoculars or a small telescope, especially if you can get away from bright city lights. The comet will be just beneath the Moon, and just right of Jupiter, but you’ll have to be quick, as it drops below 10 degrees elevation an hour after sunset and then sets an hour later. So you’ll want a clear view toward the horizon, and be looking for it as twilight ends. If you want to catch this comet, do it soon, because it will be too close to the Sun in the sky to observable after mid-April, and later when it makes its closest approach to Earth, it will be on its way outward from the Sun and growing fainter.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse

There’s a total solar eclipse on the way, and it’s kind of a big deal. We’ve been really fortunate to have two total eclipses visible across a wide swath of the U.S. recently, first in 2017, and now on April 8th, 2024. The next time such an eclipse will cross the States is 21 years from now. If you live in or near the path of totality, or you’re traveling there to experience the eclipse, you’re in for an incredible experience.

But what if you’re not going to be able to experience totality for this eclipse in person? What can you expect, and how can you still enjoy it? Well for starters, NASA has you covered with a live webcast, from multiple locations, as the Moon’s shadow moves across the country. So join us for the total eclipse online, whatever your plans.

If you’re anywhere in the continental U.S. outside of totality, you’ll still experience a partial solar eclipse. The amount of the Sun to be covered by the Moon at maximum eclipse depends on how far you are from the path of totality.

In observing a partial eclipse, you’ll still need to use specialized eye protection, such as eclipse glasses, a pinhole projector, or a telescope with a solar filter. One of the easiest methods is something most of us have in our kitchen – a regular colander. These make excellent pinhole cameras that project the eclipse onto the ground. And barring that, the sun dapples that filter through the tree leaves do something very similar. It’s also fun to note the eerie way the sunlight dims during the eclipse, especially in places where the Moon covers 80% or more of the Sun’s disk.

NASA has a bunch of eclipse resources to help you get ready for this awe-inspiring celestial event. There’s info on safe-viewing, citizen science opportunities, and you’ll even find our “eclipse explorer,” where you can find eclipse details for your specific zip code.

From wherever you’re observing, solar eclipses are remarkable events. So observe safely, and join our live webcast, because it’s an event you surely don’t want to miss.

Here are the phases of the Moon for April.

Stay up to date on NASA’s missions exploring the solar system and beyond at science.nasa.gov. I’m Preston Dyches from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s What’s Up for this month.

Skywatching Resources​

• NASA’s Night Sky Network
• NASA’s Watch the Skies Blog
• Daily Moon Observing Guide
• Full Moon Blog

About the What’s Up production team

“What’s Up” is NASA’s longest running web video series. It had its first episode in April 2007 with original host Jane Houston Jones. Today, Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje are the science communicators and space enthusiasts who produce this monthly video series at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Additional astronomy subject matter guidance is provided by JPL’s Bill Dunford, Gary Spiers, Lyle Tavernier, and GSFC’s Molly Wasser.

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Earns Neil Armstrong Space Flight Achievement Award

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) team received the American Astronomical Society’s Neil Armstrong Space Flight Achievement Award “for exceptional performance and extraordinary perseverance in successfully delivering a sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth.” The award, named after the first person to walk on the Moon, is given annually and recognizes the extraordinary contributions made by individuals or teams in the advancement of space exploration.

The OSIRIS-REx team includes members from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado; the University of Arizona, Tucson; and KinetX in Tempe, Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx launched Sept. 8, 2016, and the mission had to overcome many obstacles on its seven-year journey to Bennu and back.

“Bennu’s small size presented unprecedented challenges for the team to navigate safely near the asteroid,” said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA Goddard. “In addition to these known challenges, Bennu threw a number of curveballs during the mission’s encounter between 2019-2020.”

The asteroid presented its first surprise in December 2018 when NASA’s spacecraft arrived at Bennu. The OSIRIS-REx team found a surface littered with boulders, and no areas in which the spacecraft could safely touch down to collect a sample unless navigation performance was improved significantly over what was designed before launch. The team also discovered that Bennu was ejecting particles of rock into space.  

Despite the challenges, on Oct. 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx descended to the surface of asteroid Bennu, touched down within three feet from the targeted point, collected a sample, delivering it to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. The 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) ultimately collected represents the largest asteroid sample ever collected in space and over twice the mission’s mass requirement. The sample will give researchers worldwide a glimpse into the earliest days of our solar system, offering insights into planet formation and the origin of organics essential for life on Earth. Data collected by the spacecraft combined with future analysis of the Bennu sample will also aid our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

The award was presented at the 61st Goddard Space Science Symposium, held at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus. This is one of many recognitions the mission has received in the past month, including Aviation Week Network’s 66th Laureate Award, the 2024 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, and the National Aeronautical Association’s Robert J. Collier Trophy.

NASA Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Processing and curation for OSIRIS-REx’s Bennu sample takes place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. International partnerships on this mission include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (the Canadian Space Agency) and asteroid sample science collaboration with JAXA’s (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Find more information about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission at:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex

Rani Gran
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Jamie Adkins

Safety First!

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station wear eclipse glasses in this image from March 26, 2024. While millions of people on Earth experience the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the space station crew will have the opportunity to see it from 250 miles above our planet. Except during the brief period when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. On Earth, you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) with the ISO 12312-2 international standard or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times. If the crew has the opportunity to directly image the eclipse through space station windows, they will use a handheld camera equipped with a solar filter and will not look at the Sun directly.

Based on current orbital position and ground track predictions for the International Space Station, astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory will have three opportunities to view the ground shadow (penumbra and umbra) of the Moon as it tracks across the Earth surface during the total solar eclipse. After encountering the eclipse shadow above the Pacific Ocean, then during a pass from the New Zealand area to California and Idaho, the space station is predicted to encounter the eclipse during a time of near-to-full totality while over Maine and New Brunswick around 3:30 p.m. EDT.

For those who won’t be in the path of totality or on the space station, NASA will have live coverage of the eclipse.

Image Credit: NASA/Loral O’Hara

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Monika Luabeya