NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse

NASA is preparing for a total solar eclipse on August 12, sweeping across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. But while most people will try to watch from the ground, NASA's taking a different approach — launching from fifty thousand feet. A high-altitude research jet called the WB-57 will chase the Moon's shadow, carrying cameras designed to capture the Sun's corona in unprecedented detail. The jet will record at least twenty images per second across multiple wavelengths. By flying along the eclipse path at four hundred sixty miles per hour, the cameras will extend their observation window to nearly three minutes — compared to just over two minutes from the ground. Per NASA, the mission aims to understand how the Sun's corona is heated to nearly a million degrees, how solar material behaves above the surface, and the relationship between the corona and the solar wind. The timing also offers a unique opportunity to study atmospheric changes. Because this eclipse occurs during the Arctic summer when daylight lingers nearly around the clock, scientists wonder whether the atmosphere will respond differently than it did during previous eclipses. University teams will launch scientific balloons from Iceland and Spain to measure those changes directly.

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