Balloons Equipped with GPS Tracking For August 21, 2017 Solar Eclipse
17 Aug 2017On August 21, 2017, you’ll be able to witness the first total solar eclipse in the past 99 years. It will span across the United States — coast to coast. This is the time to catch this amazing phenomenon since the next one won’t be until April 8, 2024, according to NASA.
In the entire country from Oregon to South Carolina over an hour and a half time period, 14 states will be in approximately two minutes of night-like darkness in the middle of the day, NASA says.
At 10:15 a.m. PDT, the eclipse will enter the U.S. off the Oregon coast. It will leave the U.S. shores South Carolina at around 2:50 p.m. EDT. And, everyone in North America is expected to witness at least a partial eclipse.
This “Great American Eclipse”, will block out the sunlight and stretch across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina for 70 miles.
Tracking the Solar Eclipse
Oregon’s Portland State University will launch four high-altitude balloons this upcoming solar eclipse each with their own GPS tracking system attached to it and a 360-degree video camera.
The university said these balloons will allow people to go online and watch a live stream on Aug 21, as the moon’s shadow darkens a majority of Oregon.
NASA claims and funded one balloon as part of their larger live stream project involving 55 school and college teams throughout the United States.
The other three balloons are part of the PSU project.
The first of the balloons will travel up in the air 70,000 feet. The second balloon will reach as high as 100,000 feet and the third, 130,000 feet.
What is a total solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse happens when the moon’s disk appears to cover the sun’s disk completely in the sky. The moon orbits approximately around 239,000 miles from Earth which is the perfect distance to appear as though it’s the same size as the much-larger sun in the sky. But, it’s only once every 18 months that they line up. Each year 2 to 5 solar eclipses occur on average.
During this August 21 Solar Eclipse
Things to plan for and take into account include:
- Get to the path of totality (centerline) on August 21 to view this spectacular event instead of settling for just a partial eclipse view which most of North America will be able to see.
- Get ready for traffic jams. All over the United States, people will be gathering to the centerline to get a glimpse of this amazing and rare celestial event.
- Get your travel plans set up now. Campgrounds and hotels are going to fill up fast and many are already completely booked for that day.
- Keep an eye on the weather. If it’s supposed to be cloudy where you’re at, consider driving toward clearer skies.
- Protect your eyes. You shouldn’t look at the sun directly anyway, but before the eclipse and after it when the moon isn’t blocking the sun completely, you should wear some type of protective eyewear so you don’t damage your eyes. For people who’re watching the partial eclipse, you’ll need to wear glasses the whole time.
The eclipse will offer a limited opportunity to study certain areas of the sun that aren’t typically visible; however, the darkness won’t last for more than a few minute. When the moon wedges between the Earth and Sun and a straight line, the shadow will be cast. The Moon will obstruct the light rays of the sun making it quite possible for you to observe wisps of solar corona hot plasma.
US National Science Foundation’s scientists, the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA are looking to understand the nature of coronal mass ejections and why the corona is hotter than the surface of the Sun.
You can check out this neat tool from Vox where you can punch in your zip code to see exactly when your area can view the eclipse.
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