{"id":490180,"date":"2026-07-28T04:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/heliophysics\/nasa-science-soars-during-august-total-solar-eclipse\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T04:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:01:14","slug":"nasa-science-soars-during-august-total-solar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=490180","title":{"rendered":"NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

5 min read<\/p>\n

NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Each time the Moon covers the Sun during a total solar eclipse \u2014 darkening daytime skies and briefly revealing the Sun\u2019s ethereal outer atmosphere, the corona \u2014 it presents new opportunities to better understand our star and its influence on Earth.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Aug. 12, as the next total solar eclipse sweeps over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, NASA-funded science teams will be chasing the Moon\u2019s shadow with a high-altitude jet and scientific balloons to investigate the Sun\u2019s dynamics and how the temporary darkening of our skies affects our atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our unique perspective on Earth during a total solar eclipse, scientists can study the Sun\u2019s corona in a way we can\u2019t from anywhere else in the solar system,\u201d said Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThe Sun impacts our daily life, satellites, and astronauts in space, and we can take advantage of this moment to advance our understanding of that influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

High-flying jet to record solar dynamics<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Soaring in the nose cone of NASA\u2019s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft is a suite of four cameras to take high-resolution images of the corona in several different wavelengths of visible and infrared light. Part of an instrument developed by the NASA Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) team at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the cameras will capture at least 20 images per second, recording structures, outflows, and rapid changes in the corona during the total solar eclipse.<\/p>\n

With these images, scientists hope to learn more about the formation of prominences (solar material that gets suspended above the Sun\u2019s surface), better understand the corona and how it gets heated to nearly a million degrees, and investigate how material in the corona and the solar wind are related, which flows out from the Sun across the solar system.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\n
These images of the corona and solar prominences were taken in different wavelengths of visible and infrared light by imagers aboard a NASA\u2019s WB-57 jet during the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse. The same cameras will fly on a NASA WB-57 jet again during the Aug. 12 eclipse.<\/div>\n
NASA \/ SwRI \/ William Ashfield<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By chasing the Moon\u2019s shadow, the jet will extend how long the cameras can observe the corona. On the ground, the longest anyone will be able to see the corona is two minutes and 18 seconds. But flying along the eclipse path at 460 miles per hour, the jet\u2019s view of the corona will last nearly three minutes.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s WB-57 will fly at 50,000 feet, above any clouds that might obscure the view of the corona from the ground. The altitude also allows the cameras to observe some infrared wavelengths that get absorbed by the lower atmosphere before reaching the ground, and the corona only has been observed in those wavelengths a few times before.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>
\n
One of NASA\u2019s WB-57 high-altitude jets will carry a suite of cameras up to 50,000 feet to capture images of the solar corona during the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The instrument, called SCIFLI Multispectral Airborne Imager, or SAMI, also flew on a WB-57 during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, providing valuable imagery and information about the corona. However, the study\u2019s principal investigator, Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, says each total solar eclipse provides new opportunities to learn more about the corona.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sun is always changing,\u201d Caspi said. \u201cEvery eclipse is different. So we could see things we didn\u2019t see before. And we learn from each eclipse how to better observe the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caspi\u2019s team also is making some enhancements for the 2026 campaign based on lessons learned in 2024. For example, the team will adjust exposure times to better capture bright features that were overexposed in 2024 imagery. They will also leverage software developed since 2024 to process and analyze the data sooner than before.<\/p>\n

The experiment is funded by NASA\u2019s Heliophysics Low Cost Access to Space Program.<\/p>\n

\n
\n