WASHINGTON – The sun is about to spill some of its secrets and maybe reveal a few hidden truths. And you can get in on the action next week if you are in the right place for the best solar eclipse in the U.S. in nearly a century.
Astronomers are going full blast to pry more science from the mysterious ball of gas. They’ll look from the ground. They’ll look from the International Space Station and a fleet of 11 satellites in space. And in between, they’ll fly three planes and launch more than 70 high- altitude balloons.
“We expect a boatload of science from this one,” said Jay Pasachoff, a Williams College astronomer who has traveled to 65 eclipses of all kinds.
Scientists will focus on the sun, but they will also examine what happens to the Earth’s weather, to space weather and to animals and plants on Earth as the moon blocks out the sun. The moon’s shadow will sweep along a path, from Oregon to South Carolina.
In this Aug. 3, 2017 photo, amateur astronomer Mike Conley practices with the telescope he will use to document the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, at his home in Salem, Ore. Conley is part of a project led by the National Solar Observatory to have dozens of citizen-scientists posted across the U.S. photograph the celestial event in an effort to create a live movie of its path that will help scientists learn more about the sun’s corona. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)Between NASA and the National Science Foundation, the federal government is spending about $7.7 million on next Monday’s eclipse.