NASA Flies WB-57 at 50,000ft to Chase 3-Minute Eclipse for Solar Data
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 9
NASA Flies WB-57 at 50,000ft to Chase 3-Minute Eclipse for Solar Data
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 9
Summary
Wednesday’s mission from Iceland will send two NASA aviators along the eclipse path, using the WB-57’s 460mph speed to stretch totality from 2 minutes 18 seconds on the ground to nearly 3 minutes.
Four nose-mounted cameras will capture dozens of images a second in multiple wavelengths, targeting solar prominences and nanoflares that become visible only when the sun’s bright disc is blocked.
Those observations could help explain why the sun’s corona exceeds 1,000,000C while its surface is about 6,000C, a key puzzle behind solar heating.
NASA says aircraft offer cleaner eclipse data than ground telescopes hampered by clouds, while also returning more information than space-based instruments can downlink.
Better understanding of those solar processes feeds into space-weather forecasting, which matters for astronauts, satellites, power grids and communications on Earth.