The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) carries out various scientific experiments to study the upper atmosphere during the total solar eclipse on April 8th, which is seen in parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada, declared one of their representatives.
From the Wallops Island base in Virginia, NASA launches three sounding rockets during the eclipse to study how Earth’s upper atmosphere is affected when sunlight momentarily dims over part of the planet.
“This is done launching rockets 35 minutes before the eclipse, then during totality and then 35 minutes after the eclipse. The objective is to really study how the upper atmosphere, which we call the ionosphere, is responding to the eclipse, to the reduced light that comes from the sun during that time,” Georgia de Nolfo, NASA astrophysicist, explains.
On the other hand, several NASA WB-57F planes are in charge of chasing the eclipse that begins over the South Pacific Ocean, then land in Mazatlán, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and, from there, continue its path over Mexico, USA (from Texas to Maine) and Canada tracing a diagonal path.
“The planes fly along the path of totality of the eclipse and take photographs of the sun. With these images we are able to see the very tenuous atmosphere of the Sun, which we call the corona, so we are able to uniquely study that corona during that period,” notes the expert.
From Nolfo, who is also business line manager for heliophysics, the eclipse is a “very exciting” time to do science, both for heliophysics, or the study of the Sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system, and for science lovers in general.
For down-to-earth eclipse viewers, totality lasts 4 minutes and 28 seconds at most, lasting longer in Torreón, Mexico, and ranging between 3.5 and 4 minutes in other locations.
The total solar eclipse darkens the sky over North America, the temperature will drop and the birds will stop chirping. “It is when the moon comes between the Sun and the Earth and blocks the light coming from the sun. It also casts a shadow on the earth. If you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality, you see that the moon blocks most of the light,” explains De Nolfo.
Protect eyes and phones
To watch this phenomenon, you must use eclipse glasses and make sure they meet international standards, since looking directly at the sun can damage your eyes.Furthermore, since there are no pain receptors in the retina, the eye can be damaged by looking at the bright star without the person flinching.”You can also use these glasses if you want to take photos with an iPhone, covering the lens that will protect the sensors of an iPhone,” she emphasizes.
Other techniques Another technique, if you do not have any type of eye protection, is to view the eclipse in the shadow of tree leaves, since these act as a pinhole projector.”I’ve done it before with a partial eclipse and it’s amazing to see all these crescent shapes spread across the ground. It’s just very beautiful,” De Nolfo recalls.
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