Scientists will explore the eclipse from jet planes

The best view of the total solar eclipse on April 8 will be provided by scientists aboard NASA WB-57 jets, which will rise to an altitude of more than 15,000 meters and will explore eclipses.

Two teams of researchers will film the outer atmosphere of the Sun – the corona, and the third – the ionosphere, the upper electrically charged layer of the Earth's atmosphere. The information collected will help scientists improve their knowledge about the structure and temperature of the corona, the influence of the Sun on the Earth's atmosphere, as well as with the search for asteroids that may orbit near our luminary.

NASA jet planes fly much higher than commercial ones. This height allows them to be above the clouds, so bad weather will not prevent them from observing the eclipse. In addition, the speed of the WB-57 is 740 kilometers per hour, that is, they will be able to stay in the shadow of the Moon longer than people on Earth.

The blackout will last no more than four and a half minutes anywhere on Earth, and for airplanes this time will be 6 minutes and 22 seconds.

"The eclipse primarily serves as a controlled experiment. This gives us an opportunity to understand how changes in solar radiation can affect the ionosphere, which in turn can affect some of the technologies such as radars and GPS that we rely on in everyday life," said Bharat Kunduri, associate professor of ionosphere research at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.