AI Insight
During the August 12 total solar eclipse over Europe, NASA Johnson pilots positioned aircraft to follow the moon's shadow, enabling scientists to study the solar corona. The research focused on investigating why the sun's corona reaches temperatures of millions of degrees while the sun's visible surface is only about 6,000 degrees Celsius. Precise positioning during the eclipse allowed for extended observation time of the corona, which is only visible during total solar eclipses when the moon blocks the bright solar disk.
Why it matters
Understanding the coronal heating mechanism is crucial for predicting solar storms and space weather that can affect satellites, power grids, and communication systems on Earth. Solving this long-standing puzzle could improve our ability to forecast potentially hazardous solar activity.
Understand the Science
During the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse over Europe, scientists aimed to study a long-standing mystery: why the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, is far hotter than its visible surface. Capturing the data they needed meant being in exactly the right place at the right time.
Source: NASA Johnson pilots chase moon's shadow for eclipse science