[off camera] Well sky watchers around the world are gearing up for the opportunity
to see a rare total solar eclipse. And NASA
has some scientists on the ground there, but they are preparing to
learn a lot about the sun. Here to tell us more is Dr. Alex Young
from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Thanks for joining us. [Young] It's my pleasure
[off camera] So start by telling us what will happen during this eclipse?"
[Young] The moon is going to move in front of the sun
The moon is just right that it's going to cast a shadow down on the Earth.
And those folks who are lucky enough to be in this
shadow are going to see the moon completely block
out the sun. This is what we call a total solar eclipse.
And so it'll be travleing across Indonesia over some of the islands of Micronesia
and out into the Pacific Ocean.
[off camera] What will NASA scientists be doing during this eclipse?
[Young] Scientists will be both testing out new technology
and also studying the sun. They're going to get the opportunity
to study the sun's corona, it's atmosphere
that is millions of times dimmer than the solar disk
We're looking at video right now, real data
from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. This is showing you huge
solar storms. These explosions sending out
light, energy and material are many times the size of the Earth.
And these solar storms can interact with
a planet such as the Earth. They create beautiful things like the aurora, but they also
impact our technologies-satellites, GPS
and even be harmful to to astronauts in space. So it's really critical to
that we understand the corona which is where all this action
is happening. [off camera] Now the U.S. will
be in prime position to see a total solar eclipse next year. Can you talk
about what we're going to see?
[Young] Yes on August 2017 this shadow is going to be
cast down on the continental U.S. starting
in Oregon moving diagonally across the U.S,
down to South Carolina. And so folks
that are again in this path of totality will
get an opportunity to see this total solar eclipse. So we're hoping
that everyone will get an opportunity to travel to their closest
area to see this. But even if you don't see the total solar eclipse
you'll get to see it broadcast live in addition everyone
in North America, Central America, and part of South America will
at least get to experience a partial eclipse. [off camera] Now where
can we learn more and see some pretty pictures of the sun?
[Young] Go to nasa.gov/eclipse
and NASA.gov/SunEarth to see m
more about eclipses and the sun. You can also check out what's happening on Twitter
@NASASunEarth. [off camera] Great thanks for
so much for joing us. [Young] Thank you very much.