Well it may not feel like it this week in parts of the country, but today marks
the first day of Spring. This is the spring equinox and here to tell us
what a equinox is and else we can expect this year is Dr. Alex Young
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. (Dr. Young) Thanks for having me.
(reporter) So start by telling us what is exactly is an equinox?
(Dr. Young) Well the Earth orbits the Sun spinning at a tilt and so sometimes
twice a year that tilt is actually like this. Meaning that the north
and south hemispheres get equal illumination from the
sun. So that's the Spring and Fall equinox's.
So today in the Northern Hemisphere we are experiencing
the Spring equinox or the beginning of astronomical spring.
(reporter) Now there is another exciting event happening this year
a total solar eclipse. When is this happening and what can we expect?
(Dr. Young) Well on August 21st the entire Northern American continent
will get to experience a solar eclipse, where the moon
moves in front of the Sun, casting a shadow down on the Earth, and those
in special area called the path of totality about
70 miles wide. From Oregon down to South Carolina
will experience the total solar eclipse. Where the disc of the Sun is
blocked out completely by the moon, allowing us to see it's very
dim faint outer atmosphere, called the corona, something we
normally can't see invisible light on the ground, we can only see that
from space. But a total solar eclipse is special opportunity for us.
(reporter) Now NASA will be doing some pretty cool science during the eclipse
Talk about how NASA is using the eclipse to study
the Sun and Earth. (Dr. Young) Well we're excited to study
the corona, and that's what we can see during a total solar eclipse
So it's an opportunity from the ground to it in incredible detail, to
test out instruments that we would normally fly at some point in space.
and test them on the ground. We can also experience the effects of
the change in temperature and light, as that shadow passes across the Earth.
Which has an impact on our atmosphere as well as the plants and animals around
We are looking at this corona from a distance, but in
2018 we are going to send a spacecraft "solar probe plus"
to fly through that part of the atmosphere that part we're seeing
during the eclipse, and for the first time actually touch a star.
(reporter) Talk about how eclipses help us find
planets orbiting other stars? (Dr. Young) Well the eclipse is a special kind of
event that is called a transit, where a moon or a planet
moves in front of a star. When we look at distant stars
we can see the light dimming from that star and the amount
of dimming is actually an indicator of how big the object moving
in front of it is. This is how we find exo-planets in other
solar systems. So we the TESS spacecraft coming up which is going to give us
a survey of all these exo-planets, and then allows us
to eventually use the James Webb Space Telescope to look at the atmospheres
of these planets to look for signs of life
in the rest of the Universe.
(reporter) Very exciting. Where can we learn more, especially about the up coming eclipse?
(Dr. Young) Well if you go to eclipse2017.nasa.gov
you can find out the eclipse, you can get lots of imagery and videos, activities
as well as finding out about safety, how to view it in person
and how to view it on line.
(reporter) Great thanks so much. (Dr. Young) Thank you.