5 min read<\/p>\n
Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse<\/a> will produce stunning views across North America. While anyone along the eclipse path with a clear sky will see the spectacular event, the best view might be 50,000 feet in the air, aboard NASA\u2019s WB-57 jet planes. That\u2019s where a trio of NASA-funded teams are sending their scientific instruments to take measurements of the eclipse.<\/p>\n Two teams will image the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere \u2013 the corona \u2013 and a third will measure the ionosphere, the upper electrically charged layer of Earth\u2019s atmosphere. This information will help scientists better understand the structure and temperature of the corona, the effects of the Sun on Earth\u2019s atmosphere, and even aid in the search of asteroids that may orbit near the Sun.<\/p>\n During a total solar eclipse, the Moon perfectly blocks the bright face of the Sun, casting a small swath of Earth in darkness. With the Sun\u2019s main light masked, the much dimmer solar corona becomes visible to the naked eye. This provides scientists a unique opportunity to study this mysterious region of the Sun. The brief blocking of sunlight also allows scientists to study how the Sun\u2019s light affects Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n In the past, solar eclipses have driven numerous scientific discoveries. For this solar eclipse, NASA is funding several scientific experiments<\/a> \u2013 including the three using the WB-57s \u2013 to make measurements during the eclipse. NASA\u2019s WB-57s fly much higher than commercial aircraft. This altitude allows the jets to fly above clouds \u2013 meaning no chance of missing the eclipse due to bad weather. Additionally, the height puts the jets above most of Earth\u2019s atmosphere, which allows for the cameras to take crisper images and capture wavelengths, such as infrared light, that don\u2019t make it to the ground. Since the planes can travel at 460 miles per hour, they\u2019re also able to extend the time they spend in the Moon\u2019s shadow. While the eclipse will last no more than four and a half minutes at any point on the ground, the planes will see an eclipse that lasts about 25 percent longer, over 6 minutes and 22 seconds.<\/p>\n \u201cBy extending the duration of totality, we\u2019re increasing the duration of how much data we can acquire,\u201d said Shadia Habbal, a researcher at the University of Hawaii who leads of one of the WB-57 eclipse experiments.<\/p>\n Habbal\u2019s experiment will fly spectrometers \u2013 which record specific wavelengths of light and cameras. The instruments will measure the temperature and chemical composition of the corona and coronal mass ejections, which are large bursts of solar material. With this data, scientists aim to better understand the structure of the corona and identify the source of the solar wind, the constant stream of particles emitted by the Sun.<\/p>\n Habbal hopes the results of their study will help differentiate between different competing models of how the corona is heated. \u201cThis light is our best probe short of sticking a thermometer in the corona,\u201d Habbal said.<\/p>\n For another team, led by Amir Caspi at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, it\u2019s not their first time chasing eclipses by plane. Caspi led a previous trailblazing experiment with the WB-57s during the 2017 total solar eclipse that crossed America from sea to sea. Images taken from the jet were used to study the structure of the corona.<\/p>\n That time was the first the jets had ever been used to study an eclipse. This time, an improved camera setup will allow measurements in more wavelengths from infrared to visible light that will hopefully reveal new information about structures in the middle and lower corona. The observations, taken with a high-resolution, high-speed camera, could also help study a dust ring that circles the Sun and help search for asteroids that may orbit near the Sun.<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t a lot of data of the Sun at some of the wavelengths we\u2019ll be studying,\u201d Caspi said.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t know what we\u2019ll find, so it\u2019s extra exciting to be making these measurements.\u201d<\/p>\n A third experiment will study the effects of the Moon\u2019s shadow on the ionosphere using an instrument called an ionosonde, which was designed at JHU APL. An ionosonde functions like a simple radar. The device sends out high-frequency radio signals and listens for their echoes rebounding off the ionosphere, which allows the researchers to measure how charged the ionosphere is.<\/p>\n \u201cThe eclipse basically serves as a controlled experiment,\u201d said Bharat Kunduri, leader of the ionosphere project and a research assistant professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. \u201cIt gives us an opportunity to understand how changes in solar radiation can impact the ionosphere, which can in turn impact some of these technologies like radar and GPS that we rely on in our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n By\u00a0<\/em>Mara Johnson-Groh<\/em><\/a>![\"A](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/eclipse-map-2024-notext-1920.png?w=1920\")
<\/figure>![\"A](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/soho-mar13-2023-cme-1.gif?w=600\")
<\/figure>
NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n