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Text on screen: What will we experience on August 21?
We are so excited for August 21.
What is going to happen is the moon is going to cross
in between the sun and the Earth and we're going to be treated
to a spectacular show as that shadow goes across the
Earth. Everywhere in North America, Central America
and even bits of South America will get to see some
portion of the eclipse - either partial or total.
If you're in the path of totality that's going to be
especially amazing because what happens is the moon will totally
block out the main body of the sun and you'll get to
see the sun's atmosphere, the solar corona, around the moon.
And it's just going to be amazing.
Text on screen: We've been told never to look directly at the sun (even with sunglasses!).
Text on screen cont.: How can we enjoy this eclipse safely?
That's correct, never look directly at the
sun even with sunglasses on. What you want are
safety eclipse glasses like these. And you can check to
make sure that your eclipse glasses really are safety
eclipse glasses by going to our webpage
eclipse2017.nasa.gov. And on that webpage
we have information of how to check. So, for example you want
to look for an ISO number, cross check that
with what we have on our webpage, and a manufacturer - again, cross check
that with our webpage. During totality,
if you are in that path you can take off your glasses and look
directly at the sun during those couple of minutes.
The other thing you can do is indirectly view the eclipse.
So you can do that by creating a pinhole projection.
You can do that with your hands and create a little pinhole with your fingers there.
You want to stand with the sun at your back. Let
the sun shine through your pinhole and then
the image of the sun and the moon taking a bite out of the sun
will be projected down on the ground in front of
you.
Text on screen: For those in the path of totality - when is it safe to finally take off our solar glasses?
You can take
off your solar glasses when you don't see anything
any longer. That means that the moon has
blocked out the main body of the sun at the atmosphere around it
is now visible. Then, as soon as you start to see
the sun peeking around the moon again you need to put those
glasses right back on.
Text on screen: We're not in the path of totality - what interesting things should we lookout for?
So if you're
not in the path of totality and you're going to get a
partial eclipse, that is still really amazing. What's going to happen is
the moon is going to go across the sun and take a
bite out of the sun, creating crescent shaped
shadows and uh - you'll be able to see those with
a pinhole projector. You can also see those
even if you stand in front of a tree. The shadow as
it goes through the tree - the tree acts like a pinhole projector -
you'll get images of the
moon going across the sun in the shadow
of tree and you'll be able to see that.
Text on screen: Why are you excited for this eclipse?
I am so excited about this eclipse because I
study the solar corona. The solar corona is the part
of the sun that we get to see during a total solar
eclipse. It is the atmosphere of the sun and it's
much less bright than the photosphere - the main body of the sun.
So we usually don't get to see it. I get to
study it with a NASA spacecraft that watches the sun all the
time. But this total solar eclipse, getting to see it in person
and getting to see it in this particular way, is so
exciting to me.
Text on screen: How can we watch the eclipse if the weather isn't on our side on August 21?
nasa.gov/eclipselive
is doing live coverage of the
eclipse - of the path of totality. We have stations
all across the country watching the total solar
eclipse, and we have airplane coverage of
the total solar eclipse. So, whoever gets
to see the eclipse, we will be covering and we'll have
coverage of that. So if you're in the partial phases
of the eclipse or if it was clouded out in your area, check us
out and watch our live coverage of the eclipse.
Text on screen: Why does an eclipse only last for a few minutes?
An eclipse
only lasts for a couple of minutes because of the precise geometry.
We have to get this perfect geometry - this perfect lineup
between the sun, the moon and the Earth. And to get that
to line up just exactly perfect, the shadow
at a given place on the Earth only lasts a
couple of minutes.
Text on screen: What happens to Earth during the eclipse?
As the eclipse happens, it's effectively
turning into night in just a small location
on the Earth for just a brief period of time.
And that's really strange. The atmosphere is
going to respond and become cooler.
The cloud coverage could change. The ionosphere
could change. And we have um an App called Globe
Observer App and we are encouraging citizen scientists to
tell us what is going on - what they are observing
as the eclipse is happening. So if you have a thermometer
and get the Globe Observer App on your phone then
you too can be a citizen scientist and help NASA
collect data on how the Earth is responding
to the eclipse.
Text on screen: If you were looking back at Earth during the eclipse what would you see?
In fact we do
look back at the Earth during the eclipse.
Uh - spacecraft, one of them is called DSCOVR,
and it sits in-between the sun and the Earth, watching
the Earth and it will watch the eclipse as it happens.
It will watch the shadow of the moon cast
across the Earth and go across the Earth.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is another mission that usually watches
the moon, but for this eclipse it is going to point and look
at the Earth and watch the shadow of the moon go across the Earth.
And the International Space Station is also going to get to see
the shadow of the moon across the Earth.
Text on screen: How has our precise mapping of the moon helped us predict the path of eclipses?
The Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter has taken very precise measurements of the
moon. It has precise measurements of the topography -
the mountains, the valleys, the craters. Because the moon
is not a perfect sphere, and so that shadow that it casts down
onto the Earth is not a perfect circle. The details of
the topography are what help us know exactly what that shadow is
going to look like when it hits the Earth.
Text on screen: Where can we learn more?
You can learn more at
eclipse2017.nasa.gov - that's where we have
all sorts of information. Everything from safety,
to detailed maps of what you're going to see in
your area. We also have
event information, uh, local
libraries, zoos, museums, things like that, are hosting
eclipse parties. And you can find out what events
are going on in your area.