[News]Why NASA is launching rockets into the solar eclipse path

[NERO]

Eclipses inspire awe and bring people together to observe a stunning celestial phenomenon, but these cosmic events also enable scientists to unravel mysteries of the solar system. During the total solar eclipse on April 8, when the moon will temporarily obscure the sun’s face from view for millions of people across Mexico, the United States and Canada, multiple experiments will be underway to better understand some of the biggest unresolved questions about the golden orb. NASA will launch sounding rockets and WB-57 high-altitude planes to conduct research on aspects of the sun and Earth that‘s only possible during an eclipse. The efforts are part of a long history of attempts to gather invaluable data and observations when the moon temporarily blocks the sun’s light.

Energetic solar activity released by the sun during solar maximum could interfere with the International Space Station and
communication infrastructure. Many low-Earth orbit satellites and radio waves operate in the ionosphere, which means dynamic space weather has an impact on GPS and long-distance radio communications. Experiments to study the ionosphere during the eclipse include high-altitude balloons and a citizen science endeavor that invites the participation of amateur radio operators. Operators in different locations will record the strength of their signals and how far they travel during the eclipse to see how changes in the ionosphere affect the signals. Researchers also conducted this experiment during the October 2023 annular eclipse, when the moon didn’t completely block the sun’s light, and the data is still being analyzed. In another repeat experiment, three sounding rockets will lift off in succession from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia before, during and after the eclipse to measure how the sudden disappearance of sunlight impacts Earth’s upper atmosphere. Aroh Barjatya, professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, is leading the experiment, called the Atmospheric Perturbations around the Eclipse Path, which was first carried out during October’s annular solar eclipse. Each rocket will eject four soda bottle-size scientific instruments within the path of totality to measure changes in the ionosphere’s temperature, particle density, and electric and magnetic fields about 55 to 310 miles (90 to 500 kilometers) above the ground. “Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict disturbances is crucial to making sure our increasingly communication-dependent world operates smoothly,” Barjatya said in a statement. The sounding rockets will reach a maximum altitude of 260 miles (420 kilometers) during flight. During the 2023 annular eclipse, instruments on the rockets measured sharp, immediate changes in the ionosphere. “We saw the perturbations capable of affecting radio communications in the second and third rockets, but not during the first rocket that was before peak local eclipse,” Barjatya said. “We are super excited to relaunch them during the total eclipse, to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their magnitude and scale remain the same.” Soaring above the clouds Three different experiments will fly aboard NASA’s high-altitude research planes known as WB-57s. The WB-57s can carry almost 9,000 pounds (4,082 kilograms) of scientific instruments up to 60,000 to 65,000 feet (18,288 to 19,812 meters) above Earth’s surface, making it the workhorse of the NASA Airborne Science Program, said Peter Layshock, manager of NASA’s WB-57 High Altitude Research Program at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/03/world/total-eclipse-science-research-scn/index.html