4 min read<\/p>\n
Citizen Scientists Invited to Collect Data for NASA During Eclipse<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Argentine](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2019-07-colegiofastavillaeucaristica-5.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nArgentine students gather cloud observations and temperature data to upload through the GLOBE Eclipse tool during the eclipse that crossed South America on July 2, 2019.<\/div>\nPablo Cecchi<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOn April 8, 2024, as the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, thousands of amateur citizen scientists will measure air temperatures and snap pictures of clouds. The data they collect will aid researchers who are investigating how the Sun influences climates in different environments.<\/p>\n
Among those citizen scientists are the fifth- and sixth-grade students at Alpena Elementary in northwest Arkansas. In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, these students are visiting the school\u2019s weather station 10 times a day to collect temperature readings and monitor cloud cover. They will then upload the data to a phone-based app that\u2019s part of a NASA-led program called GLOBE, short for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment.<\/p>\n
The goal, according to Alpena Elementary science and math teacher Roger Rose, is to \u201cmake science and math more real\u201d for his students. \u201cIt makes them feel like they\u2019re doing something that\u2019s important and worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n
The GLOBE eclipse tool is a small part of the much broader GLOBE project, through which students and citizen scientists collect data on plants, soil, water, the atmosphere, and even mosquitoes. And while some of these studies require equipment, contributors to the eclipse project will only need a thermometer and a smart phone with the GLOBE Observer app<\/a> downloaded. They can access the eclipse tool in the app.<\/p>\nThis is not the first time the GLOBE eclipse tool has been deployed in North America. During the 2017 North American eclipse, NASA researchers examined the relationship between clouds and air temperature and found that temperature swings during the eclipse were greatest in areas with less cloud cover, while temperature fluctuations in cloudier regions were more muted. It\u2019s a finding that would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, without the assistance of numerous amateur observers along the eclipse path, said Maril\u00e9 Col\u00f3n Robles, a meteorologist based at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and the GLOBE project scientist overseeing the cloud study portion of the project.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"GLOBE](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/screenshot-2024-03-28-at-8.50.22-am.png?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nGLOBE program volunteers across North America uploaded data coinciding with the July 21, 2017 event to this map. A high concentration of observers make the path of totality in the western part of the U.S. stand out.<\/div>\nGlobe program<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe number of weather stations along this year\u2019s eclipse path is limited, and while satellites give us a global view, they can\u2019t provide the same level of detail as people on the ground, said Ashlee Autore, a NASA Langley data scientist who will be conducting a follow-up to the 2017 study. \u201cThe power of citizen science is that people make the observations, and they can move.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still unclear how temperature fluctuations during a total eclipse compare across different climate regions, Col\u00f3n Robles said. \u201cThis upcoming eclipse is passing through desert regions, mountainous regions, as well as more moist regions near the oceans.\u201d Acquiring observations across these areas, she said, \u201cwill help us dig deeper into questions about regional connections between cloud cover and ground-level temperatures.\u201d The studies should give scientists a better handle on the flow of energy from the Sun that\u2019s crucial for understanding climate.<\/p>\n
In many areas, citizen scientists are expected to gather en masse. \u201cWe\u2019re inviting basically all of El Paso to campus,\u201d said geophysicist and GLOBE partner John Olgin of El Paso Community College in Texas. The area will experience the eclipse in near totality, with about 80% of the Sun covered at the peak. It\u2019s enough to make for an engaging event involving citizen scientists from the U.S. and Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just a few minutes of midday darkness will have the long-term benefits of increasing awareness of NASA citizen science programs, Olgin said: \u201cIt\u2019s going to inspire people to say, \u2018Hey look, you can actually do stuff with NASA.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 30 million people live along the path of the 2024 eclipse, and hundreds of millions more will see a partial eclipse. It will be another 20 years before so many people in North America experience another total solar eclipse again.<\/p>\n
With this in mind, Col\u00f3n Robles has a piece of advice: As the Moon actively blocks the Sun, set your phone and thermometer aside, and marvel at one of the most extraordinary astronomical events of your lifetime.<\/p>\n
Visit NASA\u2019s Citizen Science<\/a> page to learn how you can help NASA scientists study the Earth during eclipses and all year round. The GLOBE Program<\/a> page provides connections to communities of GLOBE participants in 127 countries, access to data for retrieval and analysis, a roadmap for new participants, and other resources.<\/p>\nBy\u00a0James Riordon<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
NASA\u2019s Earth Science News Team<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/figure>On April 8, 2024, as the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, thousands of amateur citizen scientists will measure air temperatures and snap pictures of clouds. The data they collect will aid researchers who are investigating how the Sun influences climates in different environments.<\/p>\n
Among those citizen scientists are the fifth- and sixth-grade students at Alpena Elementary in northwest Arkansas. In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, these students are visiting the school\u2019s weather station 10 times a day to collect temperature readings and monitor cloud cover. They will then upload the data to a phone-based app that\u2019s part of a NASA-led program called GLOBE, short for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment.<\/p>\n
The goal, according to Alpena Elementary science and math teacher Roger Rose, is to \u201cmake science and math more real\u201d for his students. \u201cIt makes them feel like they\u2019re doing something that\u2019s important and worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n
The GLOBE eclipse tool is a small part of the much broader GLOBE project, through which students and citizen scientists collect data on plants, soil, water, the atmosphere, and even mosquitoes. And while some of these studies require equipment, contributors to the eclipse project will only need a thermometer and a smart phone with the GLOBE Observer app<\/a> downloaded. They can access the eclipse tool in the app.<\/p>\n This is not the first time the GLOBE eclipse tool has been deployed in North America. During the 2017 North American eclipse, NASA researchers examined the relationship between clouds and air temperature and found that temperature swings during the eclipse were greatest in areas with less cloud cover, while temperature fluctuations in cloudier regions were more muted. It\u2019s a finding that would have been difficult, perhaps impossible, without the assistance of numerous amateur observers along the eclipse path, said Maril\u00e9 Col\u00f3n Robles, a meteorologist based at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and the GLOBE project scientist overseeing the cloud study portion of the project.<\/p>\n The number of weather stations along this year\u2019s eclipse path is limited, and while satellites give us a global view, they can\u2019t provide the same level of detail as people on the ground, said Ashlee Autore, a NASA Langley data scientist who will be conducting a follow-up to the 2017 study. \u201cThe power of citizen science is that people make the observations, and they can move.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear how temperature fluctuations during a total eclipse compare across different climate regions, Col\u00f3n Robles said. \u201cThis upcoming eclipse is passing through desert regions, mountainous regions, as well as more moist regions near the oceans.\u201d Acquiring observations across these areas, she said, \u201cwill help us dig deeper into questions about regional connections between cloud cover and ground-level temperatures.\u201d The studies should give scientists a better handle on the flow of energy from the Sun that\u2019s crucial for understanding climate.<\/p>\n In many areas, citizen scientists are expected to gather en masse. \u201cWe\u2019re inviting basically all of El Paso to campus,\u201d said geophysicist and GLOBE partner John Olgin of El Paso Community College in Texas. The area will experience the eclipse in near totality, with about 80% of the Sun covered at the peak. It\u2019s enough to make for an engaging event involving citizen scientists from the U.S. and Juarez, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just a few minutes of midday darkness will have the long-term benefits of increasing awareness of NASA citizen science programs, Olgin said: \u201cIt\u2019s going to inspire people to say, \u2018Hey look, you can actually do stuff with NASA.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n More than 30 million people live along the path of the 2024 eclipse, and hundreds of millions more will see a partial eclipse. It will be another 20 years before so many people in North America experience another total solar eclipse again.<\/p>\n With this in mind, Col\u00f3n Robles has a piece of advice: As the Moon actively blocks the Sun, set your phone and thermometer aside, and marvel at one of the most extraordinary astronomical events of your lifetime.<\/p>\n Visit NASA\u2019s Citizen Science<\/a> page to learn how you can help NASA scientists study the Earth during eclipses and all year round. The GLOBE Program<\/a> page provides connections to communities of GLOBE participants in 127 countries, access to data for retrieval and analysis, a roadmap for new participants, and other resources.<\/p>\n By\u00a0James Riordon<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/figure>
NASA\u2019s Earth Science News Team<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n