Chasing The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse With NASA Jets

  • Released Wednesday, April 3, 2024
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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 will measure the ionosphere, the upper electrically charged layer of Earth’s atmosphere. This information will help scientists better understand the structure and temperature of the corona, the effects of the Sun on Earth’s atmosphere, and even aid in the search of asteroids that may orbit near the Sun.

Complete transcript available.

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

Music credits: “Prophecies”, “The City in the Clouds”, “Rodin Museum” by Laurent Dury [SACEM]; “Depths Unseen” by Grant Fisher [PRS]; “Simple Story” by Fred Dubois [SACEM]

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On April 8, 2024, NASA pilots flew two WB-57 jets for the 2024 total eclipse experiments. Footage of inside the WB-57 jets shows the moment the pilot experiences totality.

Credit: NASA/Mallory Yates

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On April 8, 2024, pilots and science teams prepare for the 2024 total eclipse experiments at Ellington Field in Houston, TX.

Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

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On April 3, 2024, the University of Hawaii conducted test flights with their instruments on the WB-57 jets at Ellington Field in Houston, TX.

Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

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On March 27, 2024, Virginia Tech and the Southwest Research Institute conducted test flights with their instruments on the WB-57 planes at Ellington Field in Houston, TX.

Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

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Test Readiness Review on March 25, 2024.

Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

A pilot prepares for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

A pilot prepares for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Pilots prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Science teams prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Science teams prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Science teams prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/James Blair

Science teams prepare for the 2024 total solar eclipse experiments on the WB-57 jets on April 8, 2024, at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

Credit: NASA/James Blair

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

This page was originally published on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 3:55 PM EDT.

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