Welcome to
NASA's coverage of
the 2023 annular solar eclipse.
Live from Kerrville, Texas,
I'm to Tahira Allen
with NASA's communications.
And I'm joined today by Dr.
Gina DiBraccio,
the deputy director
of our Goddard Space
Flight Center's Heliophysics
Science Division.
Gina,
thank you so much
for being here with us today.
Thanks for having me to hear.
A happy to be here.
I mean, it's a big day
for Heliophysics,
which is
the study of the sun
and its effects
across the solar system.
So, Gina, I'm dying to know.
How are you feeling right now?
I am. I'm thrilled.
We've been planning this day
for such a long time,
and I can't believe
it's finally here.
So exciting.
And I mean,
you couldn't have asked
for a better day, folks.
It's blue skies.
We've got the sun beaming.
It's. It's incredible. Great.
And so today's celestial event
will be visible for millions
in the Western Hemisphere
with 48 contiguous US states
and parts of Alaska witnessing
at least a partial eclipse.
Now, some cities
like Kerrville,
Texas, are in
what's called
the path of clarity
for today's events.
So, Gina, can you break down
what that means
and what somebody in this path
can expect? Sure, Tara.
So when a solar
eclipse happens,
the sun,
the moon and the earth
are all in line
now for an annular eclipse.
The moon will be
just a little bit
further away from the earth
than during a total
solar eclipse.
And that means
when the moon crosses
in front of the sun,
we're left
with this ring of fire
that we see in the sky
that is going to be incredible
to witness in person.
And folks,
the eclipse has already begun
sweeping across
the United States,
first starting in Oregon
at 9:13 a.m.
Pacific
and ending in Texas
at 1203 Central.
From there,
it will continue its path
through Central
and South America.
Now, keep an eye
on the telescope.
Feed in the box on your screen.
We're going to be sharing
live views
from across the eclipse path
throughout today's show.
Now, Gina,
is there a way to know
what kind of viewing experience
I can have in my city? Sure.
So our viewers can go to go
dot NASA.gov
slash Eclipse Explorer,
and that will take you to
that interactive
map that we have.
And you can see when
and what your viewing
experience will be.
That is amazing.
Thank you so much.
Absolutely.
And folks,
if you go ahead
and look in that
feed in your screen,
this is a live view
of Kerrville, Texas.
And you can see
the moon is already starting
to inch across the sun
right now.
So, again,
this is a good time to mention
where this eclipse goes today.
We go during today's broadcast.
So if you're not in the
path of angularity
and still want to see
that ring of fire
effect, don't worry.
Our friends from time
and date are bringing us
live telescope views
from across the path
of the annular eclipse.
Starting first
in the United States
and then following the action
as it sweeps across
central and South America.
We have a lot of exciting
things planned for you
throughout the show.
You're going to see
what it's like inside
a hot air
balloon at the world's
largest balloon festival.
Well,
then check in with astronauts
aboard the International
Space Station.
You'll hear
from a very special guest
about Eclipse safety.
And then learn all the ways
you can participate
in next year's total
solar eclipse.
This is going to be
the last time
a total solar eclipse passes
across the mainland US
for two decades.
Now, you can interact
with our experts
in today's show
by sending in questions
using the hashtag Ask
NASA on social media
or by dropping them directly
into the comment stream
wherever you're watching.
Now, today,
we are here for an annular
solar eclipse.
But did you know
there is actually a difference
between an annular
and total solar eclipse?
Now imagine
the sun is having a spot
light show in the sky
in a total solar eclipse.
The moon moves
right in front of the sun
and covers it up
like a big curtain,
making everything dark
for a little bit.
It's similar
to what you would see
at dusk or dawn.
Now, because the moon
is completely blocking
the light from the sun,
we're able
to see the sun's corona
during a total solar eclipse.
Now, in an annular
solar eclipse like today,
the moon is going to be a bit
too far away
to completely cover the sun.
So like Jeana said,
when you look up at the sky,
you're going to see the sun
with a glowing
ring around the moon.
Because of this,
it is often
called a ring of fire effect.
And as you can
see on your screen right now,
it is going to be a really,
really cool and unusual sight.
Now, a word of caution, though,
because the sun is never
completely covered
during an annular eclipse.
It is important to always
wear your eclipse
safety glasses.
Any time you look at the sun.
Now, both types of
eclipses are amazing shows,
just with
different perspectives.
So today
we're going to be bringing you
views of the annular eclipse
and you're going
to have an opportunity to view
a total
solar eclipse on April
8th, 2024.
Now, Gina,
anything you would add to that,
of course, to here?
So the science
with the annular eclipse
and the total solar eclipse,
we can do great science.
And Narsa
has a bunch of experiments
which we'll hear
about later today. Fantastic.
Thank you so much, Gina.
And folks,
it's time to meet
your other hosts.
We have James
truly at our Eclipse desk.
He's going to be keeping us
keyed into the action
connecting with
telescope operators
across the country
to show us
live views
as any clarity
sweeps the nation.
And we also have Joy NG
and Michael Kirk
at our Albuquerque desk.
They're going to be joined
with special guests
throughout the show
to talk about
how important eclipses
are to all the science
we do at NASA
and how you can play a part
in the activities
leading up to 2020 for us,
Total solar eclipse.
Now we're going to head out
to Joy and Michael later.
But first,
James,
how are things
looking on your end?
Hate to hear it.
So excited to be joining
you live from Kerrville, Texas.
I've got my eclipse
glasses ready to view
today's big event,
the annual charity
right here
in just a few moments.
We should be getting
our first view
from the West Coast
in just a few moments.
Up in Eugene, Oregon,
they'll have the first
awesome view
from the United States.
And you can track
all of today's events
using this interactive tool
we developed
called Eclipse Explorer.
If you want to play around
with this, go to go to NASA.gov
for it. Slash Eclipse Explorer.
This is a fantastic tool
that allows you
to preview
exactly what the eclipse
is going to look like
in your neck of the woods.
You can see this path that it's
going to be taking
all the way down to us
in Kerrville, Texas,
starting out in the
Pacific Northwest.
But even if you're outside
of that area of influence,
say, for example,
you're watching today's
broadcast live from Milwaukee.
You'll get a great view
of a partial eclipse
and these little icons
that you see here,
these little googly eyes,
if you will.
They're actually clickable.
So if I go to Eugene,
they're supposed to
have peak angularity
beginning at around 9:17 a.m.
Pacific.
If I click on this
little googly eye,
it'll snap right to that time
and you can preview
exactly where it's going to be.
So you still have
plenty of time
to start
getting up to speed
with exactly
what this annular eclipse
or partial eclipse
is going to look like
in your neck of the woods.
So I certainly encourage you
to play around with this tool.
And if we go to our real time
view of it now,
you can see that
a partial eclipse
is already impacting
a very large portion
of the United States,
stretching all the way out
to as far as Nashville.
And so very excited
for our moment
in this partially eclipsed
sun here in Kerrville, Texas.
We're expecting that to begin
at around 11:50 a.m. local.
I'm going to continue
to track the movement of this
annular eclipse across the U.S.
But for now,
back to you to hear
so much, James,
so excited to see that
first instant
of the ring of fire
effect soon.
Now, Gina and I are joined
with Leslie Garrison.
Leslie, who is going to show us
how to make a pinhole viewer
to observe today's events.
If you do not have
your eclipse glasses.
So, Leslie, I see
you've got a few different
pre-built pinhole viewers
with you right now.
Can you first
just walk us through
how this even works?
Yes, absolutely.
So to safely view
the sun today,
we brought a couple of items.
We have a calendar,
a pinhole, a pinhole,
a sheet of cardstock
and a hole punch.
And so we're going to use them
to simply create
what we call
a pinhole projector.
And so in order to use these
or to make these,
you need a few items from home.
But number one,
make sure to never look
at the sun directly.
But number two,
make sure when you are making
and creating
and using these
that the sun is to your back
so that the sun's light
can cast light through the home
and you just
put it up and have it.
Yeah, come put a shadow.
So on the paper model,
we are going to put a hole here
and the light is going
to go directly through it.
Peg Hole
the Collender and the mass.
The 3D printed model
already has a hole.
All you have to do
is wait for the eclipse
to happen
and see the view of the sun
on a surface area.
That's great.
So, Leslie,
can you go over those materials
just one more time? Absolutely.
So at home,
you probably already
have a calendar.
This is just a pegboard
toy from my son's
toy box
and a sheet of cardstock
and a hole punch.
But NASA has a cool
event online.
You can see our URL
somewhere on our screen.
And you can go online
and make these items
at home to use.
So really,
you just need something
with a hole.
You need something to put
the sun's light
to shine through.
So on a surface area
and you can see the eclipse
on that surface area.
Simple, effective.
Leslie, thank you
so much for your help today.
And folks,
this is a good time
to remind everybody
that it is dangerous
to look directly at the sun
without specialized
eye protection for solar
viewing during today's events.
Now, we have a very
special guest
that you might recognize
popping in
to share some important tips
to make sure that you stay safe
during an annular eclipse.
Hey, eclipse enthusiast
Lance Bass here.
And I want to tell you
how to protect those eyes
and stay safe
during a solar eclipse.
During these celestial events,
the sun, earth
and moon are in sync,
creating solar eclipses.
During an annular eclipse,
it's not the moment for a sun
staring contest.
Grab those eclipse
glasses and shade your eyes
from the ring of fire.
What you'll witness is a true
cosmic marvel.
The moon will move
between the sun and the earth.
But the moon is a bit
too far away from earth
to completely cover the sun.
So when you look up at the sky
during this
annular eclipse,
you'll see the sun creating
a glowing ring around the moon.
Because the sun is never
completely blocked,
it is never, never,
never safe to look directly
at an annular eclipse
without special eye protection
for solar viewing.
This, I promise you.
You should wear eclipse glasses
so that you don't say
bye bye bye to your vision.
Seriously?
And eclipse
glasses are not the same
as regular sunglasses.
No, they're not safe.
Solar viewers
are thousands of times
darker and will have
a specific certification
that you should look for
right here.
Don't be a space cowboy
and try to look directly
at the sun.
If you don't have
eclipse glasses,
you can use an indirect viewing
method
like a pinhole projector.
You can make one of these
with something
as simple as an index card
with a hole or a colander,
or even your hands
with a sun at your back.
You can safely project
an image of the sun
through the hole
onto a nearby surface,
like the ground.
It's got to be me
who is wearing
my eclipse glasses,
and so are you.
Now, don't
forget to be in sync
with these safety tips.
All serious.
Listen to Lance
and protect those eyes.
We really want
everybody to enjoy
today's events.
Now let's check in with Joy
and Michael
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Joy, Michael,
how is the energy over there?
Hi, Daryn.
The energy in Albuquerque
is buzzing.
We are so excited
for the annual eclipse
to pass through New Mexico
in just under an hour.
I'm joined with one of NASA's
eclipse experts, Dr.
Michael Kirk.
Thank you
so much for joining us.
it's an absolute honor
and a privilege.
I'm so excited
to be here today.
So we're currently
on the grounds of the Anderson
Abruzzo International
Balloon Museum in Albuquerque.
And behind us, the Albuquerque
International Balloon
Fiesta is also happening.
And in fact,
a balloon is also about to
get inflated right behind us,
which is really,
really exciting.
So, Michael,
have you seen
an annular eclipse before?
I actually
I have seen an annular eclipse
in New Mexico back in 2012.
But this is a special event
here today.
The about the balloon
fiesta going on.
There are
literally thousands of people
behind us all
getting ready for this event.
This is one of the
most special eclipses
I've ever been to.
This will be my third
annual eclipse.
I'm really excited
and the skies
are looking really clear,
so I have my fingers crossed
that it stays that way.
So we have
these incredible balloons
over the past week.
But did you know that
nature also does
science experiments
and develops technology
using balloons?
They're slightly different
from hot air balloons.
So to learn more,
I chatted with Chris
Yoder from NASA's
scientific balloon program.
Hi, Chris.
Thank you so much
for joining us.
Thank you for having me.
So you're part of NASA's
balloon program.
What is the difference
between a NASA's scientific
blue and versus
a regular hot air balloon?
Good question.
So hot air
balloons are air filled
and the air is heated
to create the buoyancy
of the lift
that gives them flight.
Generally,
they float
at a couple thousand feet
and they go up and down
in a matter of hours.
Scientific balloons, on
the other hand,
are quite different.
So our largest balloons
can fit a football field
inside their equator
and they can fly
for much longer.
So payload
capacity is about £8,000,
several SUVs,
The duration can be up to five
or six weeks at a time,
and the altitudes
can be up to 160,000 feet,
about four or five times
the height of
a commercial airliner.
Wow. What a different.
Yeah, that's incredible.
And you launched
all over the globe.
So you launched from New Mexico
in the US,
New Zealand and even McMurdo
Station, Antarctica.
Why do you launch
from all these
different places?
In short,
we go
where the science
needs us to go.
Some scientists need
northern hemisphere
science for galaxies
and star formation.
That's why we go to Sweden.
Same thing
in the southern hemisphere.
That's why we go to Antarctica.
Most missions need
some kind of trial
or test system,
so they'll fly from New Mexico
to prove their science or
or even just collect science
at a shorter duration.
And then for missions
that are a little more risky,
we'll go out to Palmer
in Hawaii.
So can you describe to me
what launch day is like?
It's an incredible
feeling, right?
So you you see the balloon
be released.
You hear the
the Russell the fabric
and the rush of the wind
as it stands up,
you see the balloon
be released on the vehicle
and ascend.
And it's just
it just gives you chills
every time you watch it.
It's it's a
it's a really great feeling.
That sounds incredible.
So how many of these balloon
experiments
have been sun focused
or touch focused?
So about 8 to 10% of
our portfolio
is Heliophysics missions.
One of the ones that
stands out in
my mind is one
I got to see launch in 2019
from New Mexico.
It's called The Bitsy Mission.
And it was looking
at the corona
or the kind of the outer
edge of the sun
and looking at how that behaves
under different conditions.
That sounds amazing.
Thank you so much
for joining us.
Thanks again for having me.
Applying program has
been around since 1961,
so it's no surprise
that airplanes are constantly
innovating and discovering
new science.
So let's dive
into some of the big science
discoveries that have been made
with scientific brains.
High above Earth's surface
floats a critical tool
in NASA's exploration arsenal.
Scientific balloon's massive
helium filled
high tech balloons
lift heavy
scientific experiments
into near-space
to get a clear view
of our planet and the cosmos.
Launched around the globe,
these unique NASA missions
provide a fast and cost
effective alternative
to rockets
to study earth,
our solar system, and beyond.
Balloon science
has led to many important
discoveries.
For example,
astrophysicist John Mather
studied heat
from the early universe
using balloons
which later contributed
to his Nobel Prize
winning work,
confirming the Big Bang theory
of an expanding universe.
A special type of high altitude
balloon can carry
telescopes above the clouds
for extended periods of time
to study the dark matter
in distant galaxy clusters.
One of these
super pressure balloons
called super bit
captured the Tarantula
nebula 160,000
light years away.
This winter,
crews in Antarctica
are preparing
to launch the Gusto mission.
Its infrared telescope
will examine
the complete life
cycle of a star.
NASA's scientific
balloon program
guiding a path to discovery
above and beyond.
Joined
with us now is the balloon
museum manager, Nan Masland.
Thank you so much
for joining us on
probably the busiest
week of the year.
I'm so happy to be
here with you all.
So I hear the fiestas
started in the seventies
with a
small group of people
and now there are
hundreds of balloons.
Can you tell us
more about the event
and what it means to the city?
Absolutely.
Well, it started in 1972
by a pilot
named Sid Cutter
who had the idea
to get a few hot
air balloons together.
He managed to get 13
together in a mall parking lot,
and they expected
a handful of people
to show up and hundreds did.
And that's when he knew
he was really on to something.
And 51 years later, there's
100,000 people
behind us on the field
right now. My goodness.
So the balloon museum, it's
where you work and it's
where we are right now.
Could you tell us a little bit
about the relationship
between the balloon museum
and the Fiesta itself?
Absolutely.
We are very good neighbors.
We are here
365 days of the year.
We started in 2005
and we start
with the early ballooning
and then excuse me, the 1700s
up through today
exploring the history,
science, art,
and just wonder of ballooning.
And if you haven't
been to Albuquerque,
we invite you all to come back
and check out this museum.
And what do you love most
about the
the Fiesta in the museum
this week?
New Mexico
is such an enchanting place
to be.
And the smell of roasting
green chile in the air.
There is nothing like it.
There's a reason why
Georgia O'Keeffe
chose this place as her home.
It's because of the open sky
and the beautiful landscape.
And we get to enjoy
so much of that, too, here.
And when you think about it,
there's like a spotlight
shining on Albuquerque.
And I think it's probably
the best place
in the whole wide world
to be right now.
Today, balloon fiesta
and an annual eclipse.
I can't imagine
anything better.
And how do you feel
about an annual eclipse
falling at the same time
as the event this year?
It's just fantastic.
I'm so happy to be
here with you all. And
Mother
Nature has provided us
the perfect sky today.
Looking this direction,
I don't see a single cloud.
There's a bite
out of the sun already like
it's been out of an apple.
And I just am so excited
to see the angularity. Amazing.
Thank you so much
for being with us.
I'm really excited
and enjoy
the annual eclipse together.
So next, we are honored to hear
from NASA
Administrator Bill Nelson.
Hey, everybody.
We're so excited that you're
joining us today
for this solar eclipse.
It's when the moon passes
between the earth and the sun.
It's a big day
for NASA's scientists
because eclipses present unique
opportunities to study the sun.
And what we learn
from these eclipses
along with our Heliophysics
research, has incredible
benefits for our human
exploration.
The sun is a powerful, hot,
glowing ball
of hydrogen and helium,
and it actually holds together
the entire solar system.
Without its energy.
We couldn't exist
here on earth.
Just think
it influences everything.
What we do on
earth, growing crops,
our economics.
It even affects our physical,
mental
and emotional well-being.
We see it influences reflected
throughout our culture as well
in art,
music, religion, sports.
And when you look up today
with your eclipse glasses,
I hope you're going to remember
all the ways
that the sun impacts us.
Nasser will never stop studying
our closest star
for the benefit of all of us
terrestrial beings here
on planet Earth.
Thank you,
Administrator Nelson.
So, Michael,
we've been getting
a lot of questions
on social media.
Shall we dive in?
Yeah, let's do it. Okay.
So I have a question here
from Chris Patel on YouTube.
And they also do
events like eclipses
occur in a similar pattern
geographically.
absolutely. Geographically.
We get the same sort
of shape of that eclipse
that will move
slightly northward
and in its progression.
So this is called
the Saros cycle.
And every 18 years or so
there's a
repeated pattern
of an eclipse and
the pattern itself
repeats a little bit
further north each time.
And so we get these
overlapping patterns
that are exactly the same over
time. Amazing.
I didn't know that.
Yeah, that's really surprising.
Okay.
And before I go on to my next
second question,
I just want to mention
that in the telescope view now,
we are seeing a partial eclipse
and a lot of bite
out of the sun.
yeah.
It's getting a bit bigger.
We're not quite to 50% yet,
but yeah, it is.
It is getting there.
It's pretty exciting.
That's so exciting.
Okay,
so the second question I have
is Sammy Conner on YouTube
and they ask,
How does the Ring of Fire
eclipse affect
the light from the sun
reaching earth?
that's a fantastic question,
because this
has something
to do with the science
that we can do
with eclipses as well.
So as the
as the sun gets blocked
by the moon and progressively
there are parts of the sun
active region
specifically that
will be blocked
and the light from
the active regions
won't be able to hit
the Earth's atmosphere.
So this will
we can actually study
the effects.
We can actually study
these effects.
We'll hear a little bit more
about this later
in the program.
Amazing. Okay.
So a third question is
one of our viewers on YouTube
asked, how do
eclipse glasses work?
that's a great question.
So these things, yeah,
we have eclipse glasses. Okay.
So you see the lenses
right here.
This is a mylar film
and the coating on it
blocks over
99% of the white light
that comes here.
Not only that,
but it also blocks
infrared and ultraviolet light.
So it keeps your entire
eye safe.
So it's really that coating
that keeps us safe from
the powerful sun's light.
I'm glad. Yeah, me too.
Thank you so much, Michael.
Of course.
So remember,
wherever you're watching
in the show,
ask a question
in the comments below
using the hashtag ask NASA,
and we'll be answering
more later today.
So now let's head
back to Tahira and
Gina in Covert Texas.
Thank you, Joy.
And Michael,
the weather looks great
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Yeah.
So, folks,
if you're just joining us,
we're following the 2023
annular solar eclipse
as it sweeps
across the Americas.
Now, coming up soon,
James at our eclipse desk
will be plugging us in
to our very first views
of an already
taking place in Eugene, Oregon.
Now, Gina,
as we anticipate
this beginning first moment,
can you walk us through
what exactly is happening
when an analogy takes place?
Sure.
So when the annual charity
is taking place,
that's when the moon
is going to be
in front of the sun.
Now, for the annular eclipse,
it's not going
to completely block the sun.
So we'll have that ring of fire
that we get to see in the sky.
And if you take a look at that
live feed from the telescope
that we're seeing right now
in Kerrville,
we already have a bite
taken out of the sun
from our perspective as well.
Wow.
And so that's just going
to pass
directly over,
but not fully cover it.
Exactly.
We'll still have that ring
peeking out.
Beautiful.
And I mean,
we we're seeing something,
but anything else happen?
Like what? We feel anything.
Yeah.
So that's the fun thing
about the solar eclipses
is the fact
that there will be
environmental changes.
So we'll feel that
temperature drop,
maybe a change in humidity
and wind as well.
But also nature will respond.
So check out,
you know how
it feels around you.
The birds will nest
and go back to their trees.
The crickets will come out
starting to chirp.
It'll feel kind of dramatic
when this happens.
You can't
wait to feel that
with you today.
And folks,
I mean, it's not just us
here on Earth
plugged into today's action.
Emily Furfaro
with NASA's
Communications,
had a chance to chat
with two astronauts
aboard the International
Space Station to learn
more about the sun
from their unique perspective.
Off our planet.
Jasmine
Satoshi, This is so
exciting to be
talking with you.
This is the coolest thing
that I've ever done.
As you know,
all eyes are going to be
on the sun
on October
14th as we experience
an annular solar eclipse.
And so I'm wondering,
have either of
you ever seen
a solar eclipse of any kind?
Emily Actually,
coincidentally,
my very first day at NASA
was August 21st, 2017,
which was an incredible
solar eclipse.
All my classmates
and I got to go outside
and stare up with everyone.
Pretty much everyone else
at NASA was outside
in those moments
looking at the solar eclipse.
So that's something
I'll always remember.
Wow. my gosh.
What an incredible
first day that must have been.
Solar Eclipse Events
provide Scientists
with a unique opportunity
to study the sun
in different ways.
So with that, I'm wondering
how do you study
space, weather and impacts
from the sun
on the International Space
Station?
Well, Emily
from the International
Space Station,
we have a really unique
vantage point
looking back at the earth.
But also there are
several experiments
actually mounted
right outside here
on the Japanese
experiment facility
outside of the JEM module
regarding the space
weather, specifically
from solar flare activities
point of view.
A specialist
on the ground kindly observe it
continuously
and when there is a
big solar flare,
they notifies it of us
and we move to a
relatively safe place
on the International Space
Station. Wow.
I am so glad
that you're
well protected up there
on the International
Space Station.
I want to touch
back on the annular
solar eclipse.
This celestial event kickstarts
NASA's heliophysics
BCS big year,
which is a global
celebration of sun science
and a year
where we're inviting the public
to do as many sun
related activities as possible.
And so I'm wondering,
what is your favorite thing
about the sun?
Well,
I believe for me, I
don't particularly like
the dark and I don't
particularly like being cold.
So I'm a big fan of the light
and the warmth the sun brings.
We wouldn't be the planet
we are without the sun.
Yeah.
Emily, I echo yours,
and I like the brightness
as the warmth of the sun.
And I'm looking forward
to the next solar eclipse.
That reminds me of something
that my friends
and Heliophysics say,
which is that
the sun touches everything.
With that,
I want to thank you so much
for taking the time
to chat with me
today about the sun.
And I hope that you both have
a great view of the eclipse,
wherever you might be.
And good luck
with the rest of your mission.
Thanks so much.
Emily, Have a good one.
Station, this is Houston ACR.
Thank you.
I mean, how cool is that?
Can you imagine
seeing the shadow
of an eclipse on earth
from space?
It would just have
to be incredible.
Now, folks,
the crowd is growing here
in Kerrville, Texas,
as we inch closer to our moment
to witness
that ring of fire
effect in person.
Now it's a good time
to check in with James
at our eclipse desk.
James,
how are things
looking on your end?
Hey, to here. Yes.
So we're still just
a little bit away
from the annual charity
here in Kerrville, Texas.
Really cool
to see the science going on
in the International Space
Station.
Coincidentally,
there's actually
some really cool science
going on
just a little bit to
the west of us
in just a few moments
in White Sands, New Mexico.
And right now, I'm
actually joined by scientist
Jamie Favors,
who can walk us through
exactly what we're about to see
with this sounding
rocket launch.
Jamie,
thanks so much for joining us.
Thank you so much, James. Yes.
So is this your first
annular eclipse?
It is your first time
launching rockets
into an eclipse, too.
So amazing.
And we're about to have
the first of three launch.
As I understand,
we're kind of timing
these launches out
to specific times here, right?
Yeah, So you're exactly right.
So we'll have three launches
during the eclipse,
about 35 minutes
before the peak.
That will be this first one
right in the
middle of the peak.
And then 35 minutes
after the peak,
studying that upper
atmosphere, the ionosphere,
kind of see
what are the impacts
from the sun
that really change,
you know, important features
of the upper atmosphere
that impact things
like radio communications,
satellite operations.
And we just had a
launch yesterday
in Cape Canaveral,
Florida, of our psyche mission
that's going out
into deep space.
But these rockets just launched
actually surfaces,
just took off.
So this is actually
going to come back down
afterwards. That's right.
So we're seeing first stage
burn out here at about
about 6 seconds in,
week out, 4 seconds of the
rocket still moving along.
There we see the real
the pad that we just
launched from.
So as we're
launching into space,
we're going to start
making measurements roughly
about a minute into launch.
So we're a few seconds in now,
but we're getting pretty close
to the second stage
lighting off at this point
to take us all
the way into space.
So roughly about one minute
mark is
we start to do
a lot of the science
that the payload
separates from the rocket,
which are we have
some deployable
will release
from that payload out.
At that point,
we'll start moving
that payload around in space.
So that's starting
to make good measurements
with these booms or arms
that come off
of the payload, start
making different measurements
there of like magnetic
structures, electric structures
in the upper atmosphere
as well as temperature
and density.
You know, one way to kind of
think about this,
what the shadow of the eclipse
is doing,
that upper atmosphere,
it's kind of
it's creating
these waves
is all those temperature
and density changes
are occurring.
So kind of think about it
in the way of like a boat
moving through the water.
We've all seen a boat move
and you see the waves
propagating out from here,
moving away from the boat.
That same thing
is happening here
with the eclipse
and that shadow.
So with the three rockets,
we launch one
right before the boat
moves through one
right in the middle of the boat
coming by
and then one
right after the boat
moves toward
the Eclipse shadow suite.
And so we are just now
a couple of minutes away
from actually getting
angularity here
in Kerrville, Texas.
Our first view
is actually going to be up
in the Pacific Northwest,
up in Eugene, Oregon.
They are going to
be experiencing
this starting at around
917 local time.
Jamie,
thank you so much
for joining us.
Best of luck
for the next two launches.
Thank you so much.
James, back to you To hear.
Well, I mean,
if the day
wasn't exciting enough, now
we've got a rocket
launch in the mix.
This is so exciting.
It's incredible.
And I mean,
what a massive
broadcast, right?
And so thank you,
James and Jamie.
Now, Gina,
we have a lot
of great questions
rolling in
from our viewers online.
How do you feel
about taking a few?
Let's do it. Okay. Let's do it.
So our first question
is from Entertainment
on Facebook.
Who asks,
how often do eclipses happen?
Great question.
Well, thank you for that.
So there are actually
eclipse seasons
and so
we can get eclipses
about 2 to 3 times a year.
You might expect them to happen
every time there's a new moon,
but that's not the case
because the orbit of the moon
is tilted
by about five degrees,
which means sometimes
the shadow is a little too high
and it doesn't hit earth
and sometimes a little too low.
So we need those
Eclipse seasons
as that sweet spot.
Okay, nice.
And so I actually have
a really great
follow up to that.
Okay.
Spectacular science on Pot
Spectacular Science
podcast on YouTube asks,
How do you predict
solar Eclipse?
Well, it's actually
pretty straightforward
how to calculate the eclipses,
because we have a
good understanding
of the moon's orbit.
We have a good understanding
of the Earth's orbit
and how that whole system
is connected.
And so we kind of take that
the geometry
and the inputs that we have
and we're able
to very pretty accurately
predict those eclipses.
And so
these are things that we can
look out
decades in advance
to understand
when eclipses can occur. cool.
And so
how often out
like would
an eclipse pass
in the same city, do you know?
Well, so for four
total solar eclipses,
it's very unique for
for an eclipse to pass
more than it's about once
every 375 years
that a location
can experience it.
So it's pretty hard to be
in the same spot to see a total
solar eclipse more than once.
Awesome. Yeah.
So we have a user on X
who asks,
Well,
the International Space Station
PHOTOBOMBED the eclipse.
That would look very cool.
Yeah.
And so we just
got to hear from,
you know,
the International
Space Station.
And the unique thing
about our astronauts on board
is that they have
a totally different vantage
point
for studying the eclipses,
and they get to actually view
the shadow of the moon
as it passes over the earth.
And there are experiments
that we have onboard
the space station as well.
And so,
you know, with now,
so we have all
of these different
eclipse experiments
that are taking place
and we try to take advantage
of every perspective
that we have. Awesome.
So we have a final
question from Dante.
This is going to be
a quick one,
but Dante on Facebook,
who wants to know,
will the moon block solar
wind along its path
during this ring
of fire eclipse?
I love that question.
So the solar wind is actually
a stream of charged particles
that's constantly
coming off of the sun
and it interacts with the earth
and other planets
in our solar system.
Now, the Earth's magnetic field
actually blocks
the majority of those particles
from interacting with Earth.
Some are able to get through
and interact
with our upper atmosphere.
But for the sake
of the eclipse,
most of the particles
will still kind of
be able to be deflected
around the Earth's
magnetic field.
There will be some
that are able
to interact with the moon,
but it wouldn't
have a huge impact
on what we experience at Earth.
Fantastic.
Thank you so much, Gina.
And thank you to everybody
sending in these
questions online.
We will get to some more of
what what you want to know
by later on in the show.
So keep sending those questions
in using the hashtag ask NASA.
Now, let's check in with Joy
and Michael to
see what's new in.
Joy, how's
it going?
Thanks to her and Gina.
So we're just under
30 minutes away
from any clarity
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Michael,
should we put on our glasses
to see what
the sun and moon are doing?
Yeah. Let's do it.
Okay.
So you're seeing a D partial
solar eclipse.
More than half of the sun
is blocked out,
and so you just see
a crescent of sunlight
peeking out.
Wow.
That is amazing.
Angularity.
Is this going to be stunning?
I can't wait.
I can't wait either.
This is terribly exciting.
You can see a balloon
inflating behind us.
We have annual already coming.
It is all coming together
today.
I just can't believe
that an annular eclipse
is happening at the same time
as the fiesta.
It really feels
special, doesn't it?
And actually, earlier
this week,
I even got to fly in a hot
air balloon,
which is just amazing.
That's fantastic.
I met an amazing
balloon pilot,
Jonathan Wolff,
who's been launching balloons
in Albuquerque for decades.
So let's take a look at.
All right.
So for complete
newbies, how does a hot air
balloon work?
It's a great question.
It's physics
simply
we heat up the air
inside the plane
and that makes it less dense
and then that makes it float.
Now, what that means,
though, is
we can only control up and down
the way we fly
and the way we navigate
is by choosing
different layers of,
air to fly it.
And I've heard that there is
a box for the Albuquerque box.
Could you explain
what that means?
Certainly.
It's one of the reasons
why Albuquerque
is a famous place for.
Sometimes what happens is
at a higher elevation,
the wind is going to the north
and at the surface
it's going to the south.
That's what
we call the Albuquerque box.
Sometimes the box works out
such that you can fly
to the south and go up north
and then come down
and fly back
south and land
right where you took off,
which is an extraordinary
and wonderful accomplishment.
It's super fun
when you can do that.
So for someone who's
never been in a balloon,
what is it like?
It's unlike
any other form
of flying in a balloon.
You're actually outside, right?
You're standing on the basket
and there's no windows.
You're just out there
in the air.
And it's just science, right?
It's buoyancy.
Like I said,
it's applied physics,
but it feels like magic.
It's a balloon or eclipse.
I love that.
It's very calm.
There's no movement.
No, no wind.
When you're moving,
you're moving with the wind.
So you're at equilibrium.
It feels very calm and peaceful
at the same time.
It's really exciting
and it's intense.
So it's this wonderful
combination of
intensity and mellow, serene,
tranquil beauty,
observing nature.
You can never experience that
in any other form of flight.
Wow.
That brings back
great memories.
And if you can hear
the wind behind us
that actually
inflating the balloon
I rode in just behind us,
which is so cool.
So was that
your first balloon ride?
It was my first free ride.
my goodness.
How did it go?
I remember
taking one about 20 years ago
and it was fantastic.
What do you
what was your experience?
The most surprising thing
is that when you're up there,
you don't feel
any wind against you
because you're
actually moving with the wind.
So it feels completely calm.
that's fantastic.
So would you do it again?
I found it terribly relaxing.
100%, yes.
So it was actually also not
that chilly.
We were only a few hundred
feet off the ground as well.
Wow.
That's amazing
because it's been
chilly here all morning.
So as we
learned earlier,
NASA's scientific
balloons fly much higher.
They actually reach a part
of our upper atmosphere
where our International Space
Station lives
and where some of our satellite
fly as well.
So it's really important
we learn about
this upper region
and how it could affect
our lives on Earth. And NASA.
NOAA are two agencies
in the US that work together
to help study this.
And I'm going to
two people
who can tell us more.
So we have Dr.
Elsayed Talaat from NOAA and Dr.
Kelly Korreck from NASA.
Thank you both
so much for joining us.
Very excited to be here.
Thank you so much.
So let's start off
with the basics.
Elsayed
what are these changes
we see in the upper region?
Well,
that's what
we part of what we call
space weather,
which is the
variable conditions on the sun,
the earth and near earth
space
due to solar
and geomagnetic activity
and storms
and that
that can affect human activity
and our
technological infrastructure.
Wow.
Fascinating.
So, Kelly,
how does space weather actually
affect our life here on Earth?
Well,
we had alluded
to the fact that it
challenges our technology.
So our power grids
are sensitive to those currents
that can be induced by this,
as well as our satellites
could also be impacted
by these flares
in the space weather
and we get some beautiful
things, too.
We get the aurora out of it.
Have you ever seen the aurora?
I have.
It has
was absolutely beautiful.
I laid on the ground for hours
in the snow watching it.
So talking about space weather
and the activity
in the atmosphere,
how do you know
NASA work together
to better understand
those phenomena?
Yeah, NOAA's a go to resource
for space weather information.
It watches the sun
and the Earth 24 seven
and is the nation's
official source of forecasts,
warnings and alerts
for space weather
to help decision makers
prevent and mitigate
the effects of space
weather here on Earth.
In order to do
this, we need
information and know it works
with asset
to design, develop and deploy
space weather,
operational satellites
to safeguard our society.
And what's NASA's role?
So now it is a partner
with Noah
and we focus on the science
and make sure
that we are understanding
our star and can do better
and better predictions as.
Scientists use models
and the data
from all of these satellites
in order to better understand
space weather.
And what are
some of the biggest mysteries
around space weather?
What don't we know about it?
there's so much.
I mean, let's start
at the sun, right?
That's that's the focus today.
Even how to predict flares
long term
or those or those large
coronal mass,
those billions
of tons of material
that come off,
we don't quite know
how to predict them
for a long term yet.
Well, I'm
so glad we have two
agencies on the case.
Thank you both.
L.Z.
and Kelly,
thank you both for joining us.
So did you know
that space weather
is also affected
by solar eclipses?
One citizen science project
does experiments
during the annular
solar eclipse and the total
solar eclipse.
So let's learn
more about that project.
When the moon blocks the sun
during a solar eclipse,
there is a noticeable impact
on Earth's upper atmosphere
known as the ionosphere.
These changes can affect
radio communications,
including amateur radio,
also known as ham radio.
Ham radio is a way
you can talk to people
all around the world.
You set up a radio,
an antenna,
you talk into the radio.
The radio sends a signal
up to the antenna.
The antenna sends a signal
up to the sky.
It bounces off
of the electrified
layer of the sky
back down to earth,
where you can talk to
the person on the other side.
During the 2023
annual eclipse
and the 2024 total eclipse.
The Ham PSI Citizen Science
Project is inviting
ham radio operators
to transmit radio signals.
The goal is to have people
make as many radio contacts
as they can
with operators
in different locations
during these celestial events
by recording how strong
their radio signals are
and how far they go.
Ham radio
operators and scientists
can learn about
how the ionosphere changes
during solar eclipses.
Sometimes you can
talk around the world
and sometimes you can't.
And that's all based on
what the ionosphere is doing,
what the sun is doing.
But when it works
and you are able to talk
to these faraway places.
I find that really magical
to learn
how you can participate.
Follow.
Do NASA's Science on X
and Facebook.
There are currently
experiments happening right now
across the country,
and they'll be more
during the total
solar eclipse on April
8th, 2024.
If you want to learn
how to participate,
go to ham site dot org.
So next,
we're thrilled to be joined
with the acting director
of NASA's Heliophysics
division in Peg Luce
Thank you so much
for joining us.
It's such a pleasure.
So how are you feeling
about the annual eclipse today?
wow.
It's happening
and we've been looking forward
to this for so long.
These are a rare
celestial event
that people can
actually experience
the effects of.
So it's really,
really exciting.
I'm so, so excited. I do, too.
So we've been chatting
about the sun all morning,
but can you tell us in detail
what Heliophysics is?
That is a good question
many people ask.
Heliophysics is actually a word
that isn't yet
in the dictionary,
so we want to put it there.
But Kealia is the sun physics,
the science
of matter and energy
and how they interact.
So we study the sun,
how it works,
how its energy flows out
and affects
all the planets, creates
the solar system.
And it's a very complex field
and very exciting to study.
So we heard earlier
that the sun touches
everything.
Can you describe a little bit
about how the sun touches
other NASA's
science disciplines? Yes.
So we like to say that
Heliophysics is really the
the science that interfaces
and collaborates
with all of the other
areas of science
and NASA's studies.
For instance, the Sun is a star
and it's the only star
that we can actually
study up close.
So for our astronomer s
astrophysics friends,
we can learn in detail
how our star looks,
how it changes,
how dynamic of this
when they're using their tools
like James Webb
Space Telescope
to study distant stars,
they have up close information
from from what we have learned.
And then, of course,
from the sun's energy
flows around
all of the planets.
It interacts
with the earth,
space weather
affects the
atmosphere of the earth.
And so it really is
a collaborative
and exciting field of study.
I love that
the sun
touches everything at NASA.
So how does NASA's
touch everything
we have here on Earth?
So I like to
take this opportunity to
remind people about
NASA's science.
So when most people
when they think of NASA,
they think of astronauts
and human spaceflight,
which is, of course,
so exciting.
But NASA's science is rewriting
the textbooks all the time.
We have so many discoveries
and just so much.
We have a
Parker Solar probe
that is flying through
the corona of the sun.
We have the Voyagers
that are outside
the heliosphere.
We have
so much to learn
that I could never even begin
to talk about it.
But I want to invite people
to go to Nassau at home
and check it out,
as you'll get
just a little bit
of more information
about all that NASA's
science does.
It's an exciting
time for NASA's science.
It really is.
Thank you so much, Peggy.
Thank you.
So now let's head
back to the Eclipse
desk in Kerrville, Texas,
where they're about to start
tracking the start
of the annual eclipse
across the United States.
Thank you, Joy,
Michael and Peg.
And Joy,
you are absolutely right.
Folks,
we are moments away
from the start of today's
annular eclipse in Oregon.
Now, I know I'm excited.
This will be the first time
I've ever witnessed
one of these events.
And I hope you are, too.
It'll be my first
annular eclipse as well.
But I was lucky enough
to see the 2017
total solar eclipse,
and that
experience was amazing.
So I think we're
in for a treat today.
So this is going to be
a totally new experience
for you.
It will be, yeah.
And so, Gina, actually,
you know what?
Let's go ahead
and see if we can pull up
the telescope
feed from our friends
at time and date.
Wow. Look at that.
San Diego.
I've got a live view
of San Diego,
California, right now.
What a beautiful
partial eclipse. Yeah.
I mean, the sun.
It's a crescent.
Normally, we refer to the moon
as a crescent moon,
but this time it's the sun.
And, I mean,
normally we see, you
know, the sun in the sky,
the moon in the sky.
Occasionally
they might be together.
But to see them
overlapping, it's just.
It really reminds you
that we're a part of this
entire system.
I know. And it's.
You're playing together, right?
And you can tell,
I mean, from this view,
you can really appreciate
the fact
that from our perspective of
the moon
and the sun seem to look like
they're the same size,
even though in reality
they're not. Right.
It's incredible, you know.
Right now,
let's go ahead
and check in with James
at our eclipse desk. James,
what's the latest?
Yeah, hate to hear us.
So we have
officially kicked off
angularity here
in the United States.
If we look at our
Eclipse Explorer,
you can see that
the area of effect of that
annular eclipse has now
hit Eugene, Oregon.
They should have
a phenomenal view there.
And just a reminder
to all of our viewers
who are in that region,
the Pacific Northwest,
be sure to use your eclipse
glasses as you're
looking at the sun
and the moon above.
You should have
a beautiful sight
at this moment
that's going to last
for just a couple of minutes.
So really take advantage
of that big moment.
You just saw that view
in San Diego.
Even if you're
outside of this area,
you might still have
a beautiful view
of a partial eclipse.
And if I zoom in on
to our little area
of annual clarity,
you'll notice
kind of a couple
of little bumps
and things here,
which you might initially think
is because it's low resolution,
maybe it's a little bit,
you know, low res here,
but the inverse
is actually true.
We actually have
an incredible amount of data
feeding
into our Eclipse Explorer
to generate the images
and the predictions
that you're seeing
on your screen.
This tool takes into account
two unique things.
One is obviously the topography
of earth.
So mountains, river valleys,
all kinds,
little divots and things
as that shadow moves
across the land.
But also
and really interestingly,
it takes into account
the shape of the moon.
When you think of the moon,
you might just think
it's perfectly circular.
But there are so many
little objects
like mountains and craters
and all kinds of things
dotting the surface
that are all being fed
into this prediction
that you're seeing here
that will
then show
you exactly
what the shadow
is going to look like.
You won't really be able
to see this difference
from the ground.
But if you're up in space
looking down at this,
you'll actually be able
to see that area kind of ripple
almost as it's moving
across the terrain.
So definitely,
I encourage you
to check out this tool.
It's a really phenomenal
one that's really just
using so much data
to feed into this.
And again,
even if you're
outside of this area,
I encourage you to use our tool
to kind of predict
what you're going to see.
So if I scroll all the way
over to the East Coast
and I zoom
all the way out here,
you can just see just how large
this area
of partial eclipse is.
This kind of outer circle
that you see here is areas
that might be having
a partial eclipse.
So if I click on,
for example, Philadelphia,
I know
quite a few people
watching there,
It looks like
it might be a little bit rainy,
but if the sky
clears up for you,
you'll have a peak coverage
for your partial eclipse
at around 121 local time.
So still plenty of time for you
to get your glasses ready
in order to get your pinhole
projectors created.
You had that instructions
earlier in the broadcast
and really just take advantage
of this incredible
celestial moment.
These don't really happen
very often.
So it's a
really unique experience
to be able to witness this
live from here
in Kerrville, Texas.
Just a few moments,
we'll actually be able
to have that view from
right here.
I can hear the crowd
already kind of buzzing.
People have all their glasses
ready to go,
are really kind of looking up
and observing that
partial eclipse.
You just saw that
coverage in San Diego.
This is really sweeping across
such a big area
of the United States.
And it's going to continue
to move closer
and closer and closer to us.
You can see already,
since I've just started
this conversation
here, we've already moved
away from Eugene.
So they are no longer
in and polarity.
And this is continuing
to move into parts of Nevada.
This will
then continue to track
further southeast
to our friends
out in Albuquerque
at the balloon festival.
They'll have a phenomenal
view there
intermixed with the balloons
and everything.
It'll look awesome.
And you're also seeing
right now
are live view
of Kerrville, Texas.
You can see
we're already in
pretty good coverage here
with the partial eclipse,
if I click on it, Kerrville
on our interactive map,
you can see that
we're expecting
our peak coverage
of the angularity
to begin at 1150.
And I'll remind you again,
if you're using
our interactive tool,
these are all clickable, too.
So if you wanted to click on
to those and see exactly
what time
and exactly
what it's going to look like,
actually this is a prediction
of what it's going to look like
in your neck of the woods.
And so actually,
the path
you're seeing this moon
taking is the exact path
it's going to look like
the moon's
taking in real life for you.
So that little googly eyes
showing that directionality.
So for us,
the moon has already entered
in from kind of above
the sun here.
It's going to continue
tracking down,
eventually giving us
that incredible
ring of fire effect.
I can't wait to see this live.
This will be the first time
for me
ever seeing an angularity
alive of super excited.
So the hit is coming up again
in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
just a little bit.
They'll get a
phenomenal view there.
Keep tracking it.
But for now, back to you
to hear a really
incredible James.
And I mean, I think earlier
you said buzzing like Gina.
It feels like
the town is coming alive
and is
starting to get
a little colder here.
I know I'm good.
And so, I mean, looking around,
you can just see
people are kind
of lounging back
with their safety,
eclipse glasses
and just taking it all in
and getting excited for this.
And so
and not only will Kerrville
see today's annular eclipse,
they're also positioned
to see the total solar
eclipse next year. Great.
how awesome is that?
And so, folks,
let's take a look at
how the city has been
preparing in the lead
up to these special events.
Kerrville
is the eclipse capital
of the state of Texas.
It is known
as being the capital
of the Texas Hill country.
It's the epitome of Texas
ranch beer, beautiful streams
like the Guadalupe here.
Kerrville is very welcoming.
It's a wonderful community,
tight knit, small.
It has about 25,000 people.
Kerrville is blessed to be
in that special square.
Not only
are we going to witness
the annular eclipse in 2023,
we're also going to witness
the total solar
eclipse in 2024.
We're talking about crossroads.
You know, we get it twice. Two.
Two eclipses is coming
right here,
right where it stands.
It's
statistically extraordinary.
We get to
in less than six months,
but everybody's
excited about it.
City council,
county commissioners,
everybody's diligently
to be able to provide
safe opportunity
for the influx of people.
This will be
the biggest event
in the history of the city,
and that's
why the city is preparing.
We're preparing to make
the event enjoyable
for everybody
who wants to see
this tremendous
natural phenomena.
I think that Kerrville has done
awesome job of preparing in
no way in advance.
It's getting that message out
to people
to make sure
that they are
taken care of personally.
But then there's
the science part of it,
letting them know
what is an eclipse.
And I'm just having
a great time going out
and talking
to civic organizations
and clubs
and talk about eclipses.
So this will be my fourth
and fifth solar eclipses.
I've seen
total Eclipse in Nebraska.
I drove 1200 miles
for a little over 2 minutes
and it was well worth it
and just couldn't.
The experience of the eclipse,
I mean, it's still just it
literally gives me goosebumps
every time I talk about it.
It's a visceral,
emotional experience
that is just
you have to
you have to experience it
to understand.
I thought I knew
what it would be like,
but I gasp
at the sheer
wonder it's going to be a
you're going to hear
that intake of air.
And it was the most beautiful,
natural thing I've ever seen.
So to have an eclipse
basically in my backyard
is just I it's indescribable.
As you can see,
the town is alive
preparing for these
spectacular moments.
Now, Gina, the sun
not only impacts us
here on Earth, right?
That's right. To here.
So the sun impacts
our entire solar system.
And in fact,
when we explore with NASA,
that's something
that we have to take
into consideration.
So I'm glad you said exploring,
because I actually
just recently learned
that the sun even impacts
human exploration
in the solar system,
which I thought
was really cool.
So let's take a second
and see how studying
Heliophysics is
actually helping us prepare
for sending humans
to the Moon and Mars
under our Artemis program.
NASA's studied the
sun and its influence
throughout our solar system
for decades.
The Artemis
program will provide a better
understanding of solar activity
through two new missions.
Hermes is an instrument package
that will monitor space weather
from the moon
and be placed on
NASA's gateway,
an orbital outpost being built
for lunar operations
and eventually
Mars exploration.
The dual spacecraft Escapade
Mission will examine
the effects of solar wind
on the Red Planet's atmosphere.
Helio physicists at NASA
are working
to protect astronauts
who will travel to the moon
and to Mars
by increasing our understanding
of the space environment
through which they must travel
with safety ever
at the forefront.
The agency is using spacecraft
observations and simulations
to better understand
space weather.
That's a look at your
Artemus Moon minute.
Folks, I've learned
that it is almost time
for any
clarity to make its move
into Albuquerque, New Mexico.
We've got Joy
standing by at our other desk.
Who is going to tell us
about an upcoming
NASA's mission
and show us live
views from this solar eclipse.
Joy.
Michael, on a scale of 1 to 10,
how excited are you right now?
I think I'm about a 20
right now.
What about you, Michael?
I am so excited.
You can see the light changing.
It's getting a little bit
chilly. I am so excited.
I cannot wait.
Yeah.
So now we're joined
with NASA's scientist, Dr.
Nikki Vaill
who's going to tell us
about a new Sun mission.
And firstly, Nikki,
how are you feeling today?
It is so amazing to be here.
I'm so excited to be able
to be a part of this festival
and witness
the annular eclipse.
So, Nikki,
what is the punch mission
and what does it stand for?
So Punch is a NASA
small explorer.
It stands for
polar emitter
to unify
the corona and heliosphere.
So the corona is
the outermost atmosphere
of the sun.
It's the part of the sun
that you get to see
during a total
solar eclipse
when the moon totally
blocks out
the main body of the sun.
And then the heliosphere
is the bubble
carved out by the sun.
As that corona
turns into a solar wind
and fills our solar system.
So I know that Punch
has a big outreach
effort as well,
especially looking at
humanity's interaction
with the sun
and observing the sun.
Can you tell us
a little bit more about that?
Yeah, Humanity
has been studying
the sun and the moon
in those different cycles
for millennia.
And one place where there's
a lot of evidence of that
studying of the
sun is over in Chaco
Canyon here in New Mexico.
And actually
our punch outreach team,
some of our punch
outreach team is
over there in Chaco right now
where there's just
so much evidence
of ancient and modern sun.
Watching that ancient sun
watching their evidence is
the on the rock of the sun.
There's this petroglyph of the
what we think
might be the 1097
total solar eclipse
that actually went right over
Chaco Canyon on a path similar
to the annular eclipse today.
And then, of course,
the modern sun
watching is
what we're all
doing here today.
And of course, our Native
American partners
on the punch
outreach effort
that still honor
some of their traditional sun
watching efforts.
And then, of course,
our national missions
like Punch in Parker
Solar Probe.
That's amazing.
And you mentioned punch shows
and studies,
the sun's atmosphere,
the corona.
Why do we need to study
the sun's atmosphere?
The corona is amazing
because it is
hundreds of times
hotter than the photosphere
below the surface of the sun,
the part that we should
never look directly at.
So that's amazing.
That's like
if you walked away
from a fireplace
and it got hundreds of
times hotter.
Now we know
it has to do with the magnetic
fields rooted down in the sun,
but we don't know
exactly how that energy
gets into the corona.
So that's one of the things
we're really interested
in studying.
Right.
So we're looking at a live shot
on the camera of Eclipse.
We're getting really close
to any clarity.
So what are you looking forward
to as a scientist
when you think about eclipses,
and especially
with a new mission coming up?
My hunch
is going to be so amazing
because it's
going to take images
of the corona
and that plasma
as that fills the solar system
in regular white light,
like we could see it
with our eye
if our eyes were
sensitive enough
and if the moon
always blocked out
the main body of the sun.
But it doesn't.
And that's why
we need
nasty missions like Punch
to do that for us.
Fantastic.
I can't
wait for the mission to launch.
I mean, either
I'm super excited about it.
So we're like very moments
away, minutes away
from the annular eclipse here.
I'm Nikki.
Thank you so much
for joining us.
I hope you enjoy
the annular eclipse.
Yeah. Thank you so much.
This has been great
and I hope you keep safe
from the wind.
The wind is kind
of picked up right now, so.
So, yes,
So the sky to clear,
the winds picked up.
But we have a clear
view of the annular eclipse.
So remember,
the annual
eclipse is moments
away from Albuquerque
and the sun is never
completely covered.
So during the eclipse,
you have to keep your
eclipse glasses
on the entire time.
You can also use other indirect
viewing methods, too,
like a pinhole projector
if you don't have
eclipse glasses.
So, Michael,
do you have your glasses ready?
I have mine ready. Great.
So now let's go
to a full screen
view of the telescope
here in Albuquerque.
While we are
minutes away and
you can see that
the ring of fire
is almost here.
Yeah,
the sun is
just increasing
over into the moon.
The moon's
resting onto the sun.
We're getting
closer and closer.
The light here on the ground
is visibly different.
And looking up at the sky.
We see a thumbnail moon.
It is our thumbnail sun.
It is.
It is gorgeous.
Wow. The.
The ring of Fire.
The almost ring of fire
that's so sharp
and clear
with our beautiful skies today.
Yeah, it really is
almost that Johnny
Cash moments.
We're getting close
to the Ring of Fire
and it is really beautiful
to see happening
in real time as well.
Is this
one of those events
where I can sit
and watch
and see how
the moon is progressing
and see that changing?
I can't believe that the moon
we can actually see the moon
moving in front of the sun
right now.
You can literally see it.
It's just incredible.
So as we approach granularity,
you might be able
to see Bailey's beads.
These are bright points
of light of the sunlight
coming through the valleys
on the moon itself.
Right before the
right before the
the angularity begins.
You can even hear the crowds
in the background.
You can just feel the
atmosphere building up.
Yeah, it is palpable.
Everybody is super excited
here. I know.
I am just thrilled.
We are just
in the final countdown.
You can hear some people
starting to cheer
and starting to get
all pumped up themselves.
Wow.
The Ring of Fire is
almost here.
I'm just going to take
my glasses off briefly
and you can see the crowd.
Everyone is just staring safely
at the sun right now.
It's just amazing
that we're all united
looking at this amazing
celestial event.
And make sure you take a look
at the shadows around you.
You're going to see
these crescent shadows
everywhere as
different
objects create
natural pinhole projectors.
And so
make sure
that you do have a moment
to take a look
at the world around you
because there's a beautiful
rings.
So let's take a minute and just
be quiet and enjoy the view.
wow.
Wow.
We're in there.
It is a gorgeous
sight to behold.
Everyone is cheering.
This is so amazing.
wow.
Yeah,
this is amazing.
You can hear people screaming
in the background.
People are so excited.
And take off
your eclipse glasses
safely, of course.
And make sure you look
at the shadows around you.
Look at how the
environment has changed.
Just make note
of this entire event.
Wow.
This is so amazing.
This really puts our planet
in perspective
with the whole solar system.
You know,
it's truly spectacular.
It's one of those
natural phenomenon
that I just feel so lucky
to be here at this place
at this time,
to be able to observe it.
I'm just looking at a tiny
pinhole below
and I see a little ring,
like a little spotlight.
This is so cool.
I can see ringlets dotting
around here.
Many people taking
pictures of the ground.
How are you feeling, Michael?
this is spectacular.
You know, we've been preparing
for this event for so long.
To actually be in this moment
and to be
experiencing it
live is is just tremendous.
Joy, how are you feeling?
I I'm just in awe.
You know this.
I can feel
the temperature drop.
And this ring of fire
is actually feels so long.
Yeah, it's
just about 4 minutes long.
And it feels just incredible
that we are seeing Moon
right in front of the sun
right now.
So that moon's
shadow is traversing
across the ground
at a few thousand
or a few thousand miles
an hour, almost Mach three.
So even though it seems like
it's lingering, it's
actually making
really good progress.
And pretty soon
our colleagues in Kerrville
will be seeing the
annual charity to
Wow and the crowds.
Everyone is still staring,
looking at the annual eclipse.
I love that
everyone is here together,
enjoying this together.
Wow.
You can almost hear
a little bit of an on reverence
among the crowd.
Initially,
there was a bit of cheering
and then everything
got a little bit quieter
as people took in the side.
I think that, you know,
as people experience
this event,
it strikes both,
you know, personal
but also communal.
And it's it's
a really beautiful, beautiful.
I would say we have
about thousands of people
in the fiesta today
and hundreds on the
museum grounds.
Everyone is just excited
about this eclipse
and it's just so lovely to see.
And I think also
what I really love to do
is to look at the crowd and see
everybody looking up at the sky
with their glasses on
in the same place.
It's just
it's fun to do a little bit of
people watching as well. Yes.
Well, this is a
perfect ring of fire.
It's just so crisp.
Yeah. It's it's fantastic.
I'm so excited for the science
that are
going to be
coming out of this, too.
Of course that,
I always come to
back to the science
and the this
opportunity to
have the moon covered to
this extent is going to provide
us really amazing data
about how the sun and moon
and earth are interact,
how they interact
with each other. my goodness.
We have about 30 seconds
left of angularity here.
I just want to absorb
this moment.
It's so fast and so slow.
Definitely.
Wow, what a sight.
The bottom.
Sometimes you just have
to take a moment to take it in.
Yes.
my goodness.
Well,
we have a few more seconds
left of angularity
in Albuquerque.
Yeah, we're
closing down
on the last little bit.
Take us,
see if you can see a Bailey's
bead possibly
popping up
right as that edge of the moon.
It aligns with
the edge of the sun.
And just seconds left.
Really?
Such a gorgeous sight.
It really is.
that is going to be
a moment to remember.
absolutely.
So careful is going
to be experiencing this
very, very soon.
So let's head back to them
in Kabul, Texas,
to see what they're up to.
I mean, Joy and Michael, like,
I got goosebumps
watching you
experience and clarity
and, you know, like,
that is about to be us soon.
It's true.
I mean, so to hear,
we're about 550
miles away from them
and we will have granularity
in about 10 minutes,
because, as Michael said,
the moon's shadow is traveling
more than a thousand miles
an hour.
So, yeah, see, the crowd is
just getting excited
for today's opportunity.
And folks it's
starting to get dimmer here.
Like it is going to be amazing.
Yeah.
So, Gina,
other than
sheer beauty,
why do we observe eclipses
on Mars?
Well,
now you can learn
a ton of different science
from the eclipses.
So let's talk
about exoplanets for a second,
because when we
study exoplanets,
we are actually using eclipses.
The planet itself is passing
in front of its host star.
And so we can learn
about the exoplanets.
There are eclipses
on other planets
in our solar system
that we can study.
But here on Earth,
the science
that we're able to do
will inform us
about the upper atmosphere
and how it responds to the sun.
So really understanding
kind of that sun,
earth connection,
we can do lunar
science as well.
And of course
solar science learning
more about the sun.
So eclipses are touching.
Earth science.
Planetary science.
Sun science, everything
credible and studying it all?
Yes, exactly.
We take advantage of that
for sure.
Absolutely.
I mean, spectacular sight,
spectacular science.
So, folks
we have James
standing by at our eclipse
desk with a telescope
operator who's going to show us
the next city experiencing
any clarity.
James, how are things?
Yeah.
Hey, Taylor,
I just had a quick
look outside.
It is really surreal here.
It's kind of hard to process
exactly what we're seeing
because it it's daytime,
but it feels like it's not.
It's starting to get already
very close to annular.
You can hear a lot of screams
behind me now.
Right now,
we're actually getting
the annual charity
in Roswell, New Mexico.
They should have
a phenomenal view outside
right now.
And I'm actually joined
by a telescope
operator who's
been providing
a phenomenal view
for us all
morning with her telescope.
This is Katherine Troche
Thank you so much
for joining us today.
Thank you
so much for having me.
This is so exciting.
Yeah, it's really
mind blowing seeing it.
And so you have
quite the setup.
Could you walk us
through exactly
what you have outside for us?
Sure.
I have a Celestron 6 SE
It's a Schmidt
Cassegrain telescope
with a solar filter
on the front
and a DSLR camera
that's streaming to YouTube.
And so a Schmidt Cassegrain
telescope's
a bit of a unique telescope.
Usually think
kind of like
a long cylindrical thing,
but this concentrates
the image
in a different way, right?
Right.
So it's a little bit
more compact.
It's definitely designed
for astrophotography in mind
and it works.
Is there is a glass corrector
plate in the front,
clear glass
and the light
from anything
that you're looking at,
whether it's planets
or in this case today,
the sun will travel
the correct
plate to the primary mirror
that's at the back
of the telescope.
Then that will bounce
back into the secondary mirror
that is attached
to the corrector plate
on the front.
And then it'll go through again
back at it
into the diagonal
that's attached
to the DSLR camera
or an eyepiece
if you're looking at it.
So pretty complex process.
And also
you have to have
special protection
for the telescope itself
because you're used
to looking at
pretty dim objects.
What do you have
set up for that?
So I have a white light
solar filter
and it is in
credibly important,
just like protecting your eyes.
You need to have
solar equipment
for your telescope
or your camera
if you're photographing
the sun. Yeah.
And so also,
this is obviously moving
really quickly across our sky.
You just heard from Michael
that this is really quite
a quick event here.
So how do you keep it
in the field of view
of the camera?
Well, thankfully,
the remote control
that's part of the telescope
actually has a city
database set up
so I can program it
for city and state.
And Kerrville
was actually listed at that.
Very awesome.
And yes,
so you can see it's already
moving very quickly towards us.
This is where
parity is going to be
currently taking place.
You can see
we're next in line here
and coming up in
just a little bit.
So very excited to continue
tracking this across our skies.
Thank you so much for
inviting this awesome
view for us all morning.
You can really see it's
it's really getting close now.
It's got this
beautiful crescent to it.
Usually we're used to
a crescent moon.
We've got a crescent sun today.
I mean, really awesome.
And in just a few moments,
we're going to have
the Ring of Fire
of annual charity.
Very excited to have that.
Thank you so much
for joining us, Kat. Thank you.
And back to you, too, Hero.
Thanks, James.
And Kat.
Now we have about six
ish minutes, 630
until a new clarity
makes its way here
to Kerrville, Texas.
As you can hear,
the anticipation is high there.
So excited.
And so, Gina,
as we count down
to the big moment,
let's take a few
social questions. Let's do it.
Okay.
So we have something
to see here on X,
who asks,
am I seeing a
couple of sunspots
on the telescope here?
Yes, you are seeing some signs.
But as I look at the live feed,
maybe not so much right now
because the moon is blocking
most of the sun.
But when the moon
wasn't covering
as much as the sun,
you could see some darker
spots and black spots
here and there.
And those,
in fact, are sunspots,
which are areas of
really intense magnetic.
And the surface of the sun
is actually cooler,
which is why they appear darker
than the rest of the bright sun
that we see now.
We heard a little bit
about space weather
and some of that solar activity
that's coming
towards Earth during,
you know,
some of the sun's activity.
And basically
these sunspots are where
that activity can come from.
And right now
the sun
is in the part of
its solar cycle
where more of those sun spots
start to appear.
So the sun goes through
an 11 year cycle.
Yeah.
Where it's
where it becomes active
and then where it becomes
less active.
And right now
we're inching towards
what we call that
solar maximum.
And so more and more of those
sunspots appear.
And that's
what we're seeing today.
That is incredible.
And I mean, again,
talk about activity,
Jeanette, This crowd
right now, like folks,
if you could see it,
I don't know exactly.
Wick Yeah,
I think
we have folks
looking up already
with the eclipse glasses on.
You see the live telescope feed
and you're
on the screen right now.
We are moments away,
but think is super cool.
We've even got
some folks out here
with their own telescopes
and cameras
to really capture
this spectacular event.
And so, again,
it looks like
we've got about 4 minutes.
The crowd is growing.
And I'm interested
to see how
everything kind of cools
down, too So we'll see.
Gina, I have another question.
This is from Berin on YouTube
who asks, Does
a solar eclipse
have a material impact
on the atmosphere?
I love this question
because with the eclipse
we really are
trying to understand
the Sun Earth connection.
And so you can almost
think of the eclipse
as a controlled experiment.
Basically, the fact that
we often
experience changes
in our atmosphere
during the nighttime,
But the eclipse is almost able
to turn often on the sun.
So, I mean,
even right now
we were blasted with
the sun earlier
and now it looks
like it's darker.
And so
it's the upper atmosphere
that we're really interested
in understanding
and the energy
and the radiation
from the sun creates
what we call the ionosphere.
This upper part
of the atmosphere
that's filled
with charged particles.
And so when the sun's radiation
is not hitting the atmosphere
that ionosphere,
it changes
in its density temperature.
And we're really trying
to understand those changes.
And the eclipse gives us
that opportunity
to really
turn the sun on and off,
which we can't do
in fact,
honestly,
all of us also
get to be a part of it.
It's really cool.
It is. Thanks, Gina.
So our next question
is from Hunter on YouTube,
who asks,
Does the solar eclipse
affect the moon
when it happens at night?
Okay, great question, Hunter.
So today, as we're experiencing
a solar eclipse
that that the moon is
between the sun and the earth.
Now, Bill,
the lunar eclipse
lunar eclipse that can take
place
is when
the moon is actually on the
side of the earth.
And so today
we're experiencing
that solar eclipse
and we see that the moon
is very dark
and it looks like
we're getting a live feed.
Looking at that feed,
all of another insularity
taking place right now in
Odessa, Texas.
Wow.
there we go.
It's Cool
to see this comparison
right now. What is that?
What's on the side
of the screen?
We might have
some solar is sun.
Is that a Bailey's B? Yeah.
Or solar activity.
Wow. Wow.
That's incredible.
It is leaving Odessa
right now and heading
and coming our way.
my God.
And the other live feed
that we just have
a teeny tiny sliver.
The sun left peeking out.
Wow.
We've got about 2 minutes
here, folks.
As you can hear,
the crowd is chanting
and counting down
until our moment right now.
that is beautiful.
It's coming in so quickly, too.
And you can and
I'm going to grab those
black hat so that I have.
Okay.
Wow.
So before
we hit
our moment
and peak in any clarity,
folks, it's a good time
to give a reminder
that it is never safe
to look directly
at the eclipse
without proper eye protection
when watching even a partial
or annular solar eclipse
directly with your eyes,
you must look through safe
solar viewing
glasses or a handheld
viewer at all times.
Do not look at the sun
through a camera
lens, telescope
or any other optical device
while wearing eclipse glasses.
One more minute.
If you don't have
eclipse glasses,
you can use an indirect
viewing method
like a pinhole projector,
which has a small opening,
and we'll project
the image of the sun
onto a nearby surface.
You just heard it.
We under a minute
away from the annular eclipse
making its way across our area
into Kerrville, Texas.
It feels like it's gotten here
so quickly.
We've been counting.
I know where it is. Beautiful.
And so,
again, you're witnessing
first hand the moon
passing between our star
and the earth.
And we're taking this
full screen right now.
Gina,
let's take this opportunity
and get a closer look.
All right?
and looking around,
I mean, everything.
damn.
wow.
Wow.
You know, like,
why am I emotional right now?
there we go.
I just.
I mean, it doesn't look real.
You didn't think I would cry?
Wow,
This is.
Wow, wow.
It looks great.
You can just see
it looks like
a perfect circle of the sun
peeking out.
It really
is that ring of fire
that we have here.
Wow.
You know,
I thought I'd have goosebumps,
but I'm literally shaking.
This is crazy.
I know, I know.
I agree. Yeah.
So, I mean,
and I'm your first
annular eclipse.
I mean, was it
what you expected?
It is to hear.
I mean, we'd
seen all of the photos
from previous annular eclipse.
But just as I look
again, I mean,
it's it's incredible
how the
moon and the sun
are able to line up like this.
And again, I mean,
the moon is way
smaller than the sun,
but right now it's
really giving it's
giving it a run for its money.
It is.
Why is that?
Well,
so a little fun fact
about our moon.
It's pretty incredible
it's 400 times
smaller than the sun,
but it's also 400 times
closer to the earth.
No magic number here.
Yeah.
The fact that that 404 hundred,
that means in the sky,
the moon and the sun
appear to be the same size.
And that is unique
to us on Earth.
No other
planet in our solar system
has that ratio
that makes it so special.
So you're saying that
if we
viewed an eclipse
on another planet,
it would have.
It wouldn't look like this.
It wouldn't.
I mean, I'm
sure it would be great to see,
but it would not
look a spectacular says now.
Okay, I'm
going to you behind me.
Really? Yeah.
Looking around
and you can just
see everything.
The shadows
are a little bit different.
It's dim.
You get this hazy feeling,
but the sky is so blue.
That's what's strange about it.
it's so sweet.
We've got parents
holding
little eclipse
glasses on their kids
to look up. This is just.
It's really amazing.
I just like,
I don't know, a natural
phenomenon can
make the world pause for
a second
while
you heard the cheering. And.
And now
and again
it's people are just looking.
And so for us
this is going to
last about 4 minutes
until it crosses, right?
That's right.
And why why is that?
Is that the same
in every city or.
Yeah.
So there's actually the
the length of the maximum
eclipse can change
based on several factors.
I mean, each eclipse is unique.
So one thing has to do
with where
in the moon's orbit
the moon is
because the moon's
orbit isn't circular,
so it will go faster
and slower in different parts
and that will make
the shadow travel
at different speeds.
Also,
where the shadow is landing on
earth will have an impact
because if
you're at the equator,
you're going to
be rotating much
than if you were at the poles.
And so for that fact,
it changes the length
of that maximum, that close to.
And that's true
not just for annular eclipse,
but for the partial
eclipses for
for the totality
for total
solar eclipses as well.
And I imagine,
you know, our folks at home
getting some of
those partial eclipses
are also having
great experience to
me.
I don't know what I expected,
but it wasn't this
like this is incredible.
And so, Gina,
I'm sure I mean,
you're in Heliophysics
sun science.
I'm sure some of your teams are
today's eclipse. Like, yeah.
What? Absolutely.
I mean, we
a science can only happen right
now, you know?
Right.
We've heard about the sounding
rockets are experimenting.
You know it's right
where someone is studying
the upper atmosphere.
And so we're really interested
in knowing right now
in our location
as that radiation from
the sun is being blocked,
how does the upper
atmosphere change?
And so in addition to that,
I mean, we really want
to understand
how those sunspots,
which going on
when they're covered versus
when they are not covered,
we can tell the difference
in that radiation
that's coming from the sun.
And so there's so much science
that we can do.
And this is just folks,
this is view
is just so incredible.
Before we fully passed
through this transit,
let's check in with James
at our eclipse desk.
James,
I know you are seeing this.
What do you think?
Yes, it's
truly a surreal moment.
It feels like almost no time.
It's been really
breezy, chilly.
So the shadows are all
like little rings as well.
It's just a beautiful sight.
Kind of hard to put into words
the exact feeling.
I mean,
we've been preparing for this
for a while.
We've been tracking this
all morning
with our Eclipse Explorer.
But actually
to see it in person
and to take it in its
it's a really incredible moment
and this only lasts
about 4 minutes.
You can see on our
Eclipse Explorer
this is already
passing off of Kerrville,
heading further
southeast to parts of the Texas
coast on the Gulf.
And the morning is
far from over here
for a lot of folks in Central
America and South America.
Their morning is
just starting off here.
The partial
eclipse is affecting
still a large
part of the region.
You can see this whole area
that's highlighted
here in the larger
Ellipse here.
That's all being affected
still by the partial eclipse.
And you can see on our track
that this is going to continue
moving, moving
further southeast
all the way into parts
of South America
before the morning is over.
It's been just incredible
tracking this.
And actually,
Kerrville,
we're in the path of the total
solar eclipse for next year.
So if I turn on the path
for next year,
you can see X marks
the spot here in Kerrville.
We're going to be coming
right back here
to witness this
incredible cosmic event
once again,
getting that incredible
just really, again,
very hard to put into words
just how amazing this is.
Just just
a stunning experience.
And it's been an honor
to be here with you
this morning,
tracking this event
as it's moved across.
We started the morning
in Eugene, Oregon.
Now it has arrived
and already past us
in Kerrville.
I'll continue to track it
for a little bit longer here.
But for now,
back to you to hear a
thank you, James.
And folks,
this is just the beginning.
Today's event kickstarts
NASA's heliophysics big year,
which is the year
where we're encouraging people
to do
as many sun related
activities as possible
in the lead up to next year's
total solar eclipse.
Now, Joy
and Michael in Albuquerque
are going to share
some of the ways
you can play a part.
Joy, what can we
look forward to
and why
now that the annual
eclipse is here?
The fun has just begun.
So today is the official
launch of NASA's
heliophysics year.
This is a yearlong
celebration of solar science
and it's modeled
after the big year concept
from citizen scientists
in the birdwatching community.
So that challenge
to see as many birds
as they can.
But in the heat of physics
big year,
we're challenging you to do
as many sun science
related activities as possible.
And so one way to participate
is through NASA's
Citizen Science Project.
Here Are a few sun
related ones you could join?
Did you know that you can
participate in solar
eclipse science with NASA?
NASA's citizen science
projects are collaborations
between scientists
and members of the public
no matter your citizenship.
Several volunteer science
projects are gearing up
for the 2024
total solar eclipse
that you can join.
Total solar eclipses
don't just look cool.
They provide a rare chance
to see the sun's
faint outer atmosphere
using telescopes and cameras
that are safe
for viewing the sun.
Volunteer scientists
across North
America will capture
images of the total
solar eclipse.
Scientists will study
these images in detail,
tracking how plumes
of solar material move
through the sun's atmosphere.
But be careful.
Without proper tools
and techniques,
you can damage your eyes
and your camera.
Did you know you?
Can listen to an eclipse?
Amateur or ham radio operators
will send radio messages
to one another
during the eclipse
to see how changes
in the upper
atmosphere distort signals
as the moon blocks
one portion of the sun.
It can make other
portions easier to see.
Working with local scientists
at an observatory,
Southern California,
participants
will observe magnetic
hotspots on the sun
as the moon
passes over them,
revealing details
they normally can't detect.
Want to learn?
Follow.
Do NASA's Science on X
and Facebook
to see how you can get involved
in NASA's citizen science.
So as you can see in
the telescope view.
Thus the moon is now
moving away from the sun,
which is really, really amazing
that we're still seeing this
partial eclipse.
Absolutely.
And I think I can see a sunspot
in there, too.
And I think on
one of the earlier shots,
I could see a prominence.
So we're seeing NASA's
Sun science
happening in real time.
So we're getting some amazing
questions online.
So we ask more.
Yeah, let's get into some more.
Okay.
So we have a question
from Peter Chiang on X
and they all
kind of filtered telescope
see flares on the sun
during totality.
that's a really good question.
The answer is yes.
It depends on what
filter, though.
So if you use
just a white light filter,
then you're have to have
an exceptionally large flare
in order to be able to see it.
If you use a filter
like an alpha filter
that specifically selects
one color of red light,
then you're going to be able
to see flares a little bit more
frequently, even
even during totality as the
as the corona
adjusts to that flare
as it erupts.
Okay.
So we have time for
one more question.
Your next ask.
If a solar system
had more than one star,
would they have
more solar eclipses?
Would they all look like
the same eclipses
that we have here on Earth?
that is
getting a little sci fi,
but that's okay.
So if we had more than one sun,
you'd have to have a moon
to block both suns.
Maybe two moons to block
both suns.
So you'd have to have
a very complex geometry
to get everything
lined up perfectly
so you could get solar eclipses
with two sons
and two moons
and it would get
very complicated.
Thank you so much, Michael.
You're welcome.
Okay.
So now we're joined with NASA's
Heliophysics lead, Denise
Hill, who's
going to tell us more
about how you can participate
in the heliophysics big year.
Hi, Denise. How are you today?
great.
Did you see that?
That was my first
annular eclipse
and we got to prominence.
I am so stoked
that was the dope is
being ever. Okay.
Heliophysics big year.
So as you've heard before,
the sun touches everything.
And the heliophysics
big year is a celebration,
a global celebration
of shine and sun, science
and what we have going on.
But it's also I think
I heard you say it, Michael.
It's about the community
and being communal
and just the unity of hearing
everybody cheer
the sun touches us all
in so many different ways.
And so the heliophysics
big year
is going to help
us kind of discover
all the ways
the sun touches us
scientifically,
but in other ways as well.
And why is it a big year
for the sun?
So you saw which is happening
right?
well, that's nothing.
Coming up in April,
as we have the
total solar eclipse and then
Parker Solar
probes closest approach
which will end out
the heliophysics big year.
But it's the mission
that has literally touched
the sun
and it's
going to be making
its closest approach.
And then from there,
every single
during the heliophysics
big year.
And it's a big year
because it's
more than 12 months.
But during that,
during that time
we have themes for
on different ways
people can explore the sun
and how it touches that.
And so we have
themes like fashion.
We're going to be delving
into physical
and mental and emotional health
that Sun touches
us in so many ways,
and then we have missions
in just a couple of weeks.
We have our our mission
that is launching,
and it's going to be
the first space
weather station on ISIS.
And we are so excited.
You've no idea.
Wow, there's so many new
NASA's vents
and opportunities coming up.
Is there any other
like science
that maybe people
could get involved
with themselves?
Yeah, for sure.
So we talked about
citizen science a bunch,
and that is one of the ways
for sure
for people to get involved
and to do NASA's science
with real scientists.
And then there's also like
you are a scientist,
every single
one of us is a scientist,
and we're going to share ways
that you can explore the sun.
Do your own
little scientific
investigations yourself.
And so, yeah,
the science is going
to be front and center.
There's also going to be
some other things as well.
That's great.
So what are you
most excited about
in this upcoming big year?
For me, it's the unity right
like the center.
It doesn't matter
what race you are,
what ethnicity,
what culture, religion,
whether you live
in a rural community,
urban community,
it doesn't matter.
The sun touches us all
and we like to call it
our extraordinarily
ordinary sun,
because the star,
our sun is supposed
to just be ordinary,
but it is responsible
and touches
every living thing on earth.
And no other star
that we know of
has that level
of responsibility.
So that gives
that gives me hope
that you can be ordinary,
have an extraordinary impact.
That's amazing.
Well,
I think our sun is
pretty extraordinary
by itself, so I know.
Thank you so much for
joining us, Denise.
For having me.
So if you want to learn
more about the Heliophysics
speak, you can visit
go dot Nassau dot
gov slash hillier piggy.
Michael,
are you excited for the physics
speak?
I am so excited
because I get to be a rock star
for an entire year
and then I go back to being
a normal scientist again.
I'll know it's going
to be fantastic
for science,
for outreach, for everything.
I am so excited for this.
Well, the Heliophysics
big year has
so many opportunities
for folks around the world
to get involved
with NASA's science,
especially during the 2024
total solar eclipse.
And one group of
citizen scientists
will be using their senses
to make observations.
They'll gather sound recordings
and help data analysis
to understand
how wildlife will be impacted
by solar eclipses.
And you can help them too,
no matter your citizenship.
So now let's learn more.
During a total solar eclipse,
it is almost like day
becomes night very quickly.
So knowing that there's
going to be a change
in that light in life,
giving energy
means that we can predict
when animals are going
to have a rapid shift
in their behavior,
which results in changes
in the acoustic environment
or the soundscape.
So the Eclipse Soundscapes
project is a project
to determine
how eclipses affect
life here on Earth.
And there's a lot more
to observation
than just what you see.
It's also important
to think about what you hear.
We're measuring
how the rapid onset of darkness
an eclipse affects
wildlife
by measuring the changes
and sounds that they make.
The general public
is best suited
for this type of project
because the general public
is everywhere.
And that's really the power
of the participatory science
component of this project.
It enables recordings
and observations of soundscapes
across the diversity
of ecosystem homes
covered
by the path of totality.
We might think of
some ecosystems
having a greater influence
of human activities
on the soundscape,
whereas in other ecosystems,
say, a remote
of a national park,
we might have a lower influence
of human activities
and greater influence
from the sounds of life
in Earth.
The only way to
properly preserve
a species is to understand
the only way to understand
it is through scientific study
on their behavior
or patterns
and their habitat requirements.
One of the things
we'll be doing
during the total
solar eclipse is setting of
these recording stations.
So these are our acoustic
monitoring stations
and what we're doing
is listening for
of the different species
with a hopes of taking out
some of those
endangered species
in order to hear about.
We're hoping the results
of this study
will inform us
about the health of our bat
populations of Hot Springs
National Park
and help improve
nature conservation efforts.
The Eclipse Soundscapes
project is an inclusive
and accessible project
that is inviting
the general public
to get involved
in NASA's science
alongside scientists
and subject matter experts.
Where ever
you take your observations,
you might be giving us
information
that has never been
recorded before,
and that is really useful
and interesting to a scientist.
Well, that
sounds like an exciting project
that anyone can
get involved with.
So if you want to learn more
about Eclipse soundscapes
or any of other NASA's
other citizen science,
go to go dot
NASA.gov slash Hillier bigger.
Well,
thank you to everyone
joining us online
and here in Albuquerque
New Mexico.
It's been an unforgettable
day, hasn't it, Michael?
it certainly has.
I will never forget this day.
It has been
just a day full of activity
and memories
that will last a lifetime.
So although the
annual eclipse is over
in Albuquerque,
we still have one more day left
at the balloon
fiesta and one year
to participate
in as many sunshine
related activities as possible
in the Heliophysics big year.
So now let's
head back to Cavil, Texas.
Well, Tara
and Gina
will chat about the upcoming
total solar eclipse.
Thank you so much for joining
us, everyone. Thanks everyone.
And thank you, Joy.
And Michael,
I mean, it
sounds like we have so much
to look forward
to over this next year.
And folks,
even though peak annual parity
just passed in
Kerrville, Texas,
we are still getting
an incredible view
on this live telescope feed.
You can see the moon is now
passing over the sun
and honestly on its way
to make another Cities day.
Now, it is a good point
to remind folks
that X marks
the spot here in Kerrville
for the 2024
total solar
eclipse will pass
in just six months.
This very lucky city
is in the path of totality
and will be one of the places
to witness the moon
completely blocking out
the face of the sun
and darkening the sky
as if it were dawn or dusk.
Now, Gina and I
are here with NASA's
chief scientist, Dr.
Kate Calvin,
to learn more
about what we can expect
for next year.
Kate,
thank you so much
for being here with us.
Thanks for having me.
You And so can you start off
and just give us an idea
of what science we can expect
only for a total solar eclipse.
So one of the things
that scientists
are really interesting
in studying is called
the corona.
It's a part
of the sun's atmosphere.
It's a source of heat
and particles
that come towards Earth.
But normally it's too bright.
And so you can't really
observe it directly.
Scientists use instruments
called Chronographs
to block some of that light,
but it's still hard to see
parts of the same asset.
Total eclipse.
The total eclipse
gives the best environment
for studying the corona. Right?
But we were so lucky
to just see that prominence
coming off of the sun
and what is the prominence.
And so that's actually
some of that solar particles,
some of the particles
coming off of the sun,
the ejecta,
and we can kind of
see it hanging there,
which either
turns into an eruption,
some of that activity
that we can observe
to kind of
just quiet down as well.
Yeah.
So can you tell us,
you know,
how do the
how can the public involved
with a total solar eclipse?
that's a good question. Yeah.
So we have a number
of citizen science projects.
These are projects
or people
anywhere around the world
can help contribute
to our science.
You don't have to be
in the path of totality
to contribute.
We have projects for everyone
and there's different projects.
Some of them you need
cameras or telescopes
or equipment, others
you can use
just with your cell phone.
And so we have one project
that's on
called on the Globe
Observer app.
It's to help understand
the effect of eclipses
on Earth's weather.
And you can do that
just with your phone.
Any other science background
or anyone can contribute.
We walk
through what you need to do,
and sometimes
it's as simple
as taking a picture
or recording a sound.
And so you can all green
it to our science
so anybody can get involved.
Anyone can get involved.
Perfect.
And then can you tell us
a little more
how the eclipse science
that we're doing
will help to inform
kind of the broader
science at NASA? Yeah.
So like I said,
we're trying to study
the corona, the source of heat
and particles towards Earth.
They are factors.
They can disrupt electronics,
they can lead to
northern lights.
So really interested
in that earth
and understanding
the effects on earth.
There's also the sun affects
other planets
and bodies in the solar system
like the moon and Mars.
And so when we think about
exploring the solar system,
we want to understand
the sun and its role in it.
Wow, that's incredible.
I mean, we have so much
to look forward to next year.
I want to know real quick,
what are like
what's your peak excitement
for next year's
total solar eclipse.
You know, we'll start with you
and then Kate would love
to hear your thoughts. Sure.
So I'm really excited
to compare
what we saw today
that that annular eclipse
how does it compare to that
total solar eclipse?
You know,
I got to see a total in 2017.
But every eclipse is unique
and so such a science
I think I know how to dial
my experiment
how many data points can I get?
But not just that,
you know, we're
hearing everything
about the heliophysics big year
and so it kicks off today
and that total
solar eclipse in April
will be the next event.
So how many events
can I participate in
for the Heliophysics big year?
Amazing. What about you?
I'm interested
in sort of the things
beyond just what
you see
what you feel
so that it's going
to get cooler
and we might hear some animal.
We felt that. Yeah.
And I really want the full body
experience of the eclipse
That is incredible.
And I mean, today has been
a spectacular day.
So folks, let's
check in one last time
with James at our Eclipse desk
to see how he's doing.
James, what's it like
yet to hear?
I'm still in all of the moment
that we just had here
a couple of minutes ago
here in Kerrville, Texas.
Just a stunning view,
that ring of fire here.
And as you can see
on our Eclipse Explorer,
the annual charity
has now shifted off
into the Gulf of Mexico.
So if you're in a boat out
there,
you'll have a phenomenal view.
But we're going to be here
once again
next year, April eight,
2024, in Kerrville, Texas.
I've got the path of the 2024
total solar eclipse up
here on the screen.
You can see it's tracking
right through us in Kerrville
and then
affecting an entirely
new area here that is going
be stretching all the way up
to parts of
New England,
all the way up to Maine,
even parts of Canada.
So a really large area
there as well.
So definitely
save those pinhole projectors.
Certainly keep a hold
of those eclipse glasses.
You're going to need them
for next year.
We're going to be right back
to cover
all of that incredible stuff
next year with you.
It's been amazing
tracking this today and again,
this is still moving onwards
to Central America
and South America.
So if you're tuning
in from there,
you have a great few incoming.
And in many
parts of the country,
there's still that
partial eclipse,
a truly inspiring morning
and a wonderful day for all.
So thank you so much.
Back to you, too, hero.
And thank you so much, James,
for bringing us into the action
during today's show.
Gina So, wow,
I mean,
this was both of our
first experiences.
So final thoughts.
I mean, what a day
at this point.
You know,
I'm ready to look
at those calculations
for the eclipses
and check out not only April,
but what else can I see
in the future?
Because these are spectacular
little eclipse chasers.
Exactly. All around the world.
No.
And it has been so fantastic
having you on today's show
to really just like help
break down what we are
experiencing today.
And first, again,
thank you
so much for everything.
Thank you for having me.
And folks,
the action isn't over yet.
You can continue to watch views
of today's
annular eclipse
as it moves
across the path
by visiting go dot
nasa.gov forward slash eclipse
2023 live that live stream
will be will continue
running until 4:30 p.m.
eastern
as this
eclipse continues
its way
through Central
and South America.
Now, unlike
today's Ring of Fire effect,
we are going to witness
the moon completely
block out the face of the
during next year's
total solar eclipse.
The sky is going to darken
as if it were dawn or dusk.
You can learn
more about eclipses
and what's in store for April
8th, 2024,
by visiting Gov.scot NASA.gov.
Forward slash eclipses.
The total
solar eclipse
is sure to be
a rare event and one
you will not want to miss.
So stay up to date
with sun related events
and how we are
studying our star
by following NASA's
Sun on social media.
Folks,
thank you
to everyone who was tuned
in to today's
coverage of the 2023
annular solar eclipse.
We hope to see you back here
next April
as we ring in the last
total solar eclipse
that will pass through
the mainland US
for two decades.
Now, here's
how you can celebrate
the countdown to April eight
by joining our
heliophysics big year.
We are one
of 100 billion stars
in a vast galaxy.
But for all of human culture
on Earth,
one sun that nourishes all
that is what stirs humankind.
That's what unites us
now.
Experience the wonder,
the beauty
and the power of our stars.
One sun
across space, time and culture.
Let us continue the quest
to unfold this universe
and let us continue
to find unity in our discovery.