The total solar eclipse will progress from Oregon to South Carolina, giving a unique opportunity to scientists across the country to get involved. NASA is going to support several studies from the ground and sky, using balloons and planes as well as ground-based instruments.
The eclipse will give teams the chance to image lower parts of the sun’s outer atmosphere, which is known as the corona — a region that usually isn’t visible. The corona is quite mysterious. For example, scientists still don’t know why it’s so much hotter than the rest of the sun. Cracking these and other mysteries could help researchers make better predictions about space weather, which can affect Earth.
Comments are closed.