NASA plans several experiments during the total solar eclipse

NASA plans to launch rockets before the eclipse.

What are they doing?

The total solar eclipse will last longest in Torreón, Mexico.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will conduct various scientific experiments to study the upper atmosphere during the total solar eclipse on April 8.

This was confirmed by a NASA representative to the EFE agency. It’s worth noting that the eclipse will be visible in parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada.

From the Wallops Island base in Virginia, NASA will launch three sounding rockets during the eclipse.

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NASA solar eclipse experiments

PHOTO: Courtesy of NASA

These rockets aim to study how the Earth’s upper atmosphere is affected when sunlight is momentarily dimmed over a part of the planet.

«Rockets will be launched 35 minutes before the eclipse, then during totality, and then 35 minutes afterward.

«The goal is to really study how the upper atmosphere, which we call the ionosphere, is responding to the eclipse, to the reduced sunlight coming from the sun during that time,» explained Georgia de Nolfo, a NASA astrophysicist, to EFE.

Furthermore, several NASA WB-57F aircraft will be tasked with chasing the eclipse that will begin over the South Pacific Ocean.

NASA solar eclipse experiments: Planes will take photos of the sun

PHOTO: Courtesy of NASA

The eclipse will then make landfall in Mazatlán, on Mexico’s Pacific coast and continue its path over Mexico, the U.S .(from Texas to Maine) and Canada, tracing a diagonal trajectory.

«The planes will fly along the path of totality of the eclipse and take photographs of the sun,» said the NASA expert.

«In these images we will be able to see the very tenuous atmosphere of the Sun which we call the corona, so we will be able to uniquely study that corona during that period,» she added.

De Nolfo, business line manager for heliophysics, described the eclipse as a «very exciting» moment for science, both for heliophysics, or the study of the sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system, and for science enthusiasts in general.

The eclipse will last longest in Torreón, Mexico

PHOTO: Courtesy of NASA

For those observing the eclipse from the ground, totality will last a maximum of 4 minutes and 28 seconds, with the longest duration in Torreón, Mexico. It will vary between 3.5 and 4 minutes in other locations.

The total solar eclipse will darken the sky over North America, lower the temperature and quiet the birds.

«When the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, it blocks the light coming from the star and also casts a shadow on the planet,» de Nolfo explained.

«If you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality, you will see that the moon blocks most of the light.»

Protect your eyes and phones

NASA solar eclipse experiments / PHOTO: Courtesy of NASA

To observe the eclipse, you must use special glasses that comply with international standards, as looking directly at the sun can damage the eyes.

Moreover, since there are no pain receptors in the retina, the eye can be harmed by without the person realizing it.

«These glasses can also be used if you want to take photos with an iPhone, covering the lens that will protect an iPhone’s sensors,» de Nolfo emphasizes.

Another technique, if no eye protection is available, is to view the eclipse in the shadow of tree leaves, as these act as a pinhole projector.