When the moon becomes wedged between the Earth and the sun, daytime light temporarily dims in parts of the planet, and three rockets will fly skyward to observe how those brief moments of darkness affect Earth’s upper atmosphere.
On April 8, NASA will launch three sounding rockets from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to study ionospheric disturbances during a solar eclipse.The rocket will launch at three different times; reportedly 45 minutes before, during and 45 minutes after the peak of the eclipse NASA.
The sun’s sudden disappearance affected parts of Earth’s atmosphere, causing interference that could disrupt communications systems on Earth.
The ionosphere is the part of Earth’s upper atmosphere that forms the boundary between Earth’s lower atmosphere and the vacuum of space. It contains large numbers of electrically charged atoms and molecules, and reflects and refracts radio waves used in our communications and navigation systems. At night, the ionosphere thins because it no longer receives solar radiation, which ionizes atoms and molecules. As a result, previously ionized particles relax and recombine into neutral particles.
“Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict perturbations is critical to ensuring the smooth operation of our increasingly communications-reliant world,” said Aro Baja, professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and the mission’s lead scientist. Aroh Barjatya, said in a statement.
The upcoming solar eclipse provides an opportunity to study changes in the ionosphere during rapid, localized sunsets as sunlight disappears at precisely the right time. Bajadia said each rocket will release four auxiliary instruments the size of two-liter soda bottles to measure disturbances in the ionosphere, which will help scientists improve current models predicting potential interference in communications systems.
Sounding or research rockets carry scientific instruments along parabolic trajectories into suborbital space. In addition to rocket measurements of ionospheric data, ground teams will also use various means to make measurements.
These same rockets have previously launched once from the White Sands test facility in New Mexico during the October 2023 annular solar eclipse. The rocket received some new instruments and was refurbished for reuse during the upcoming solar eclipse. During the last solar eclipse, rockets measured a sharp drop in the density of charged particles in the atmosphere.
“We saw perturbations capable of affecting radio communications in the second and third rockets, but not in the first rocket before the local peak of the eclipse,” Bajadia said. “We’re very excited. “Being able to restart them during a total solar eclipse to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their amplitude and size remain the same.”
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