2 min read 2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Prediction vs. Reality Image Before/After Before a total solar eclipse crossed North America on April 8, 2024, scientists at Predictive Science Inc. of San Diego aimed to foresee what the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, would look like during totality. The predictions help researchers understand the accuracy of their models of the Sun’s corona, which extends along its magnetic field. A solar eclipse offers a rare opportunity to view the entire corona from Earth, guiding research into how its energy can cause solar…
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Seeing the Solar Eclipse from 223,000 Miles Away
This spectacular image showing the Moon’s shadow on Earth’s surface was acquired during a 20-second period starting at 2:59 p.m. EDT (18:59:19 UTC) on April 8, 2024, by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse from hundreds of thousands of miles away. The camera suite aboard the LRO usually retrieves high resolution black and white images of the Moon’s surface; these images provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources, hazards, and enable safe landing site selection.…
Read MoreMore Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science
2 Min Read More Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science SunSketcher volunteers captured sequences of eclipse images, revealing the precise size and shape of the Sun and testing theories of gravity! Credits: Clinton Lewis from New Harmony, IN/Western Kentucky University Thank you for helping us out! Over 36,000 people helped do NASA Science during Monday’s total solar eclipse. Together, these volunteers submitted more than 60,000 vital pieces of eclipse data to NASA science projects. More than 30,000 volunteers with the SunSketcher project pointed their smartphones toward the Sun and recorded…
Read MoreScientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes
5 min read Scientists Pursue the Total Solar Eclipse with NASA Jet Planes The April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse will produce stunning views across North America. While anyone along the eclipse path with a clear sky will see the spectacular event, the best view might be 50,000 feet in the air, aboard NASA’s WB-57 jet planes. That’s where a trio of NASA-funded teams are sending their scientific instruments to take measurements of the eclipse. Two teams will image the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – and a third…
Read MoreSolar Eclipse Resources
2 Min Read Solar Eclipse Resources Visitors at Saturday “SUN” Day look through solar eclipse glasses. Credits: Kent Blackwell, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers From the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Get ready for the Moon to pass in front of the Sun, casting its shadow across all of North America. A spectacular total eclipse will sweep across North America on April 8, 2024! The Night Sky Network and Astronomical Society of the Pacific are creating and curating information for amateur astronomers and other informal educators. See some of our Night…
Read MoreNew ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time
4 min read New ‘Eclipse Watch’ Tool Shows Eclipses from Space Any Time Do you wish you could see a total solar eclipse every day? With a new online tool called Eclipse Watch, you can observe the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, in real time with eclipse-like images from space as we count down to the next total solar eclipse on Earth. An eclipse-like image captured by the LASCO instrument on the SOHO spacecraft includes a picture of the Moon added for scale. To see the latest image, visit https://eclipse.helioviewer.org/.…
Read MoreNASA, Agencies to Brief Plans for April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
A person watches the annular solar eclipse of October 14, 2023, in Kerrville, Texas. Credits: NASA Millions of people across North America will experience a rare celestial sight on Monday, April 8: a total solar eclipse. NASA will host a media briefing with other government agencies at 10 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 26, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The briefing will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. Over the course of about an hour, viewers in…
Read MoreSketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse
5 min read Sketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse Calling all eclipse admirers! The SunSketcher team is looking for one million volunteers to capture photos on their cell phones during the April 8 total solar eclipse. These images will help scientists learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun. This NASA-funded citizen science project invites anyone who will be within the path of totality in the U.S. to take photos of the Baily’s Beads effect, which occurs when little points of…
Read MoreTotal Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon’s Moment in the Sun
5 min read Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Moon’s Moment in the Sun Artist’s representation of a total solar eclipse, with a new moon in the foreground and the Sun’s corona visible in the background. Download the Poster NASA/Vi Nguyen On April 8, 2024, much of North America will experience a solar eclipse: a cosmic alignment of Sun, Moon, and Earth, in that order. The Moon’s shadow path will make landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast, cross the United States from Texas to Maine, and exit North America via Newfoundland, Canada,…
Read MoreNASA Launches Snap It! Computer Game to Learn About Eclipses
2 Min Read NASA Launches Snap It! Computer Game to Learn About Eclipses In NASA’s Snap It! An Eclipse Photo Adventure game, players will help the traveler take photos of the Sun and create postcards. Credits: NASA On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible to over 30 million people across North America. To help kids learn about solar eclipses, NASA is launching Snap It! An Eclipse Photo Adventure. On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible to over 30 million people across North America.…
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