NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft will be deployed to capture images of the eclipse from an altitude of 50,000 feet. This project, led by Amir Caspi at the Southwest Research Institute, aims to observe the middle and lower corona in detail using infrared and visible light imaging. Additionally, the aircraft will study a dust ring around the Sun and search for nearby asteroids.
The WB-57s will also carry instruments to analyze the temperature and chemical composition of the corona and coronal mass ejections. Meanwhile, the Citizen CATE team plans to set up telescopes along the eclipse’s path to maximize observation time.
To extend totality observation time to 8 minutes, the Chasing The Eclipse II team will use the retrofitted NASA WB-57F jet planes. This initiative builds on the success of similar efforts during the 2017 total solar eclipse, allowing for longer and more detailed observations above atmospheric disturbances.
Another team, led by Shadia Habbal of the University of Hawaii, will use cameras and spectrometers aboard WB-57 planes to study the solar corona’s structures and the solar wind’s origins. This experiment aims to gain insights into these phenomena while extending observation time in the eclipse’s shadow.
A third experiment will focus on studying the ionosphere, Earth’s upper atmospheric layer affected by solar radiation. Led by Bharat Kunduri of Virginia Tech, this project will use an ionosonde instrument to measure ionospheric charge changes during the eclipse.In addition, in another project, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will launch three rockets during the eclipse to study its effects on the upper atmosphere. These rockets will deploy scientific instruments to measure changes in electric and magnetic fields, density, and temperature, providing valuable data on the eclipse’s impact.
