These are the first astronomical observations for the WB-57s. "This mobile platform also allows us to chase the eclipse shadow, giving us over 7 minutes of totality between the two planes, compared to just 2 minutes and 40 seconds for a stationary observer on the ground." "Being above the weather guarantees perfect observing conditions, while being above more than 90 percent of Earth's atmosphere gives us much better image quality than on the ground," said another SwRI co-investigator, Dr. This high altitude provides distinct advantages over ground-based observations. So why does the corona always appear well organized, like a recently-coiffed head of hair, and not snarled or matted?"įrom two of NASA's WB-57 research aircraft, the team will observe the corona during the eclipse using stabilized telescopes with sensitive, high-speed, visible-light and infrared cameras at 50,000 feet. "These structures are constantly being churned and tangled by the motion of the solar surface itself. Craig DeForest, a co-investigator also from SwRI's Boulder office. "The magnetic field forms well organized loops and arcades in the lower corona, as well as large, fan-shaped structures extending out to many solar radii," said Dr.
The project may also shed light on another question: why the magnetic structures in the corona are relatively smooth and stable. The team will use high-speed, high-definition video of the corona to look for fast, coherent motions that could help solve this puzzle. Or perhaps nanoflares or nanojets-explosions or eruptions too small and numerous to see individually-are constantly releasing small amounts of energy that combine to heat the entire corona. Why is the Sun's outer atmosphere so much hotter than its surface? Perhaps the Sun's magnetic field carries energy into the corona and converts it into heat. These phenomena damage satellites, cause power grid blackouts, and disrupt communication and GPS signals, so it's important to better understand them." "In addition, the corona is one of the major sources of electromagnetic storms here at Earth.
Amir Caspi, principal investigator of the project and a senior research scientist in SwRI's Boulder, Colorado, office. It's millions of degrees Celsius, hundreds of times hotter than the visible surface below," said Dr. "By looking for high-speed motion in the solar corona, we hope to understand what makes it so hot. During a total eclipse, however, the Moon blocks the glare from the bright solar disk and darkens the sky, allowing the weaker coronal emissions to be observed. The faint light from the corona is usually overpowered by intense emissions from the Sun itself. Total solar eclipses are unique opportunities for scientists to study the hot atmosphere above the Sun's visible surface.
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