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    • By NASA
      5 min read
      Sketch the Shape of the Sun for Science During the Solar Eclipse
      Calling all eclipse admirers!
      The SunSketcher team is looking for one million volunteers to capture photos on their cell phones during the April 8 total solar eclipse. These images will help scientists learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun.
      This NASA-funded citizen science project invites anyone who will be within the path of totality in the U.S. to take photos of the Baily’s Beads effect, which occurs when little points of sunlight pass through the valleys in between the mountains on the edge of the Moon. It’s the last piece of the Sun seen before totality and the first to appear after totality. For a few seconds, these glimmers of light look like beads along the Moon’s edge.
      The Baily’s Beads effect is seen as the Moon makes its final move over the Sun during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, above Madras, Oregon. This effect occurs when gaps in the Moon’s rugged terrain allow sunlight to pass through in some places just before the total phase of the eclipse. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani The SunSketcher app will use smartphones to automatically take a sequence of images as Baily’s Beads appear. Volunteers will simply download a free app, activate it just before totality, set the phone down with the rear camera pointed at the Sun, and leave it alone. The app will use the phone’s GPS location to calculate when Baily’s Beads will be visible.
      “All you need is a cell phone,” says Gordon Emslie, SunSketcher’s project lead and professor of physics and astronomy at Western Kentucky University. “How many science projects can you do with the equipment you already have in your pocket?”
      Emslie says the cell phone images of Baily’s Beads will look fairly simple, but the tiny dots of light will provide crucial data about our star.
      “It’s the precise timing of when these flashes appear and disappear that can tell you how big the Sun is and what shape it is,” Emslie says.
      Citizen scientists will activate the Sunsketcher app before the eclipse and then prop their phone against a steady surface with the rear (back-facing) camera pointed at the Sun. The app will automatically take images of Baily’s Beads at the correct times. SunSketcher/Tabby Cline The SunSketcher team will merge the images collected from various viewpoints on the eclipse path to create an evolving pattern of beads. This pattern will be compared with 3D maps that show the exact locations and distances between lunar craters, mountains, and valleys on the surface of the Moon from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The combined measurements will allow researchers to calculate the precise size and shape of the Sun based on the timing of the images captured over 90 minutes of eclipse observations.
      “The fascinating thing about this is you can really only do this by having observers stretched over the whole eclipse path,” Emslie explains. “No one observer can monitor an eclipse for more than about four or five minutes.”
      The Sun is round but not a perfect sphere. It bulges out slightly along the equator with a diameter of about 865,000 miles. Scientists suspect the shape of the Sun changes slightly as it goes through 11-year cycles of fluctuating solar activity. The Sun is a rotating ball of gas and plasma with complicated internal flows of material, energy, and magnetic fields beneath the surface that vary over that cycle and impact its overall shape.
      “All of these flows connect to the surface somehow, and so the shape of the surface is determined by the details of the flows,” Emslie says. “If we can understand the subsurface flows, we can better understand the Sun’s internal structure.”
      The Sun’s shape also determines its gravitational field, which affects the motions of the planets, so measuring the Sun’s precise shape will help scientists test theories of gravity.
      This map shows the path of totality and partial contours crossing the U.S. for the 2024 total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio/Michala Garrison; Eclipse Calculations By Ernie Wright, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Participants in the SunSketcher project can be located anywhere in the eclipse’s path of totality in the U.S., which stretches from Texas to Maine, on April 8. Emslie says the more people involved, the more worthwhile the project will be. “Literally, we’re looking for a million people to play.”
      For more info on SunSketcher, visit: https://sunsketcher.org/
      How to Become a SunSketcher and Be a Part of History 
      This animated tutorial from the SunSketcher team explains how volunteers can capture images during the total solar eclipse using a free cell phone app to help learn about the size, shape, and inner structure of the Sun.
      Animation credit: SunSketcher/Tabby Cline Before the Eclipse
      Download the free app from your phone’s app store (available now on iOS and coming soon on Android). Initiate the app around five minutes before totality. No internet connection is required. If possible, turn on “Do Not Disturb” in your phone’s settings to prevent vibrations that could disturb the image sequence. Prop the phone against a steady surface (such as a rock, book, phone stand, or tripod) with the rear (back-facing) camera pointed at the Sun. Let it be! The app will automatically take images of Baily’s Beads at the correct times. Enjoy the eclipse! Remember to use specialized eye protection for solar viewing except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun. After the Eclipse
      The app will show a directory of images taken and will request user permission to share them. Only time and location data will be recorded with the images. No personally identifiable or private information will be collected. Once an internet connection is established, the images will be automatically uploaded to a central server and a screen will appear with a thank-you message. By Rose Brunning
      Communications Lead, NASA Heliophysics Digital Resource Library (HDRL)
      Share








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      Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 Related Terms
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    • By NASA
      Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments during moonwalks.
      Name: Casey Honniball
      Title: Lunar scientist
      Organization: Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 698)
      Casey Honniball is a lunar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Courtesy of Casey Honniball What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
      I study the Moon using Earth-based telescopes to understand the lunar volatile cycle. I also conduct field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.
      Why did you want to be a lunar scientist?
      When I was 6 years old and in first grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was tutored and had help with homework and tests, which continued until I was a junior in high school. At that point, I learned to manage my dyslexia.
      Because I was not good at reading and writing, I turned to more physical things such as things I could touch and build. I discovered physics in high school, which turned me on to other sciences.
      I went to college for physics, but learned that I preferred astronomy. In graduate school I realized I wanted to be a lunar scientist.
      I have a B.S. in astronomy from the University of Arizona, a master’s in geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and a Ph.D. in Earth and planetary science also from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa.
      While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon. I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.
      What brought you to Goddard?
      During graduate school, I worked with Goddard’s Dr. Kelsey Young on a field deployment testing instruments for astronauts. In 2020, I became a post-doctoral fellow for her at Goddard.
      In January 2023, I became a visiting assistant research scientist in the Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory through CRESSTII, and Kelsey is still my mentor.
      As your mentor, what is the most important advice Kelsey Young has given you?
      Kelsey helps me stay passionate about the work I am doing. She does this by providing new and exciting opportunities and being supportive about work-life balance.
      I admire Kelsey’s spirit of adventure and her passion for field work. I appreciate all she has done for me and am grateful for the opportunities she and our lab have provided.
      Using Earth-based telescopes, Casey studies the Moon to understand the lunar volatile cycle. “While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon,” said Casey. “I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.”Courtesy of Casey Honniball What sorts of instruments do you test for use on the Moon?
      I test the use of mid- to long-wave infrared instruments for reconnaissance of a location prior to astronauts setting foot outside a vehicle. For example, an instrument on a rover can scan the area to characterize the minerology and volatiles including water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, methane, and similar chemicals. This then allows astronauts and scientists to select locations to collect samples.
      I test this procedure on Earth by doing field work.
      What is the most exciting field work you have done to test those instruments?
      In 2015, I went to the Atacama Desert in Chile to install a radio camera on an existing telescope. I spent about a month installing the camera and observing on the telescope. There were only about 15 people I interacted with during that time. The area is very Martian-like; it is very red, dry, and barren, although we saw wild donkeys.
      During Christmas of 2015 and again in 2016, one month each time, I went to Antarctica to launch a high-altitude balloon radio telescope. I lived at McMurdo Station and worked at their balloon facility near the airstrip. Antarctica is a completely different experience than you could imagine. You are so cut off from civilization. You have only the people who are there, although, I was there during Antarctica’s summer when McMurdo had many people. You are in a completely barren landscape that is so magnificently beautiful.
      In 2018, I deployed an instrument I built to the Kīlauea Lava Lake on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a National Park with thousands of visitors yearly. The lava lake was active at the time. We could see lava spewing out at different vent locations in the lake. It was very exciting and kind of scary. We had special permits allowing us into restricted areas closer to the lake. We were told not to get any closer to the cliff edge of the lake than our height so that if we tripped, we would not fall into the active lava.
      I’d love to do field work in Iceland. Iceland is a great location for planetary field analog research as it has a similar landscape and geologic context to the Moon and Mars.
      Casey conducts field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.Courtesy of Casey Honniball What outreach do you do that inspires others with dyslexia?
      I like to talk to elementary through high school students about life as a scientist and how I got to where I am. I like to tell my story about learning to manage dyslexia to hopefully inspire others.
      What do you do for fun?
      I am a deep-sea scuba certified diver. I mainly dove in Hawaii because I was living there. I also enjoy working out, hiking, baking sourdough bread, and being with my family.
      Where do you see yourself in five years?
      I hope to be supporting Artemis science operations on the surface of Moon and continuing to studying the Moon’s surface remotely and conducting research through field deployments.
      What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.
      Fear is a state of mind.
      NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
      Share
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      Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactElizabeth M. JarrellLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
      People of Goddard Earth's Moon People of NASA Planetary Science View the full article
    • By NASA
      Credit: NASA NASA released Tuesday the first episode of a new six-part podcast series for first-time space explorers to learn about the Sun. Ahead of the total solar eclipse in April, NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series will focus on the sphere full of swirling magnetic fields and explosions of hot gases.
      New episodes will post every Tuesday through April 23. The first episode is available at:
      Sun Series: The Sun, Our Star – NASA
      On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. More than 32 million people will have the chance to witness, and a phenomenon the contiguous U.S. will not see again for 20 years.
      The series will delve into the cultural connections and historical significance of solar studies. Listeners can prepare firsthand for the solar eclipse with insight from NASA experts along the path of totality. The series offers insight into research from NASA scientists, firsthand accounts from “eclipse chasers”, and how the agency protects astronauts and spacecraft during solar activity.
      The series is part of NASA’s Curious Universe podcast. In each episode, hosts Padi Boyd and Jacob Pinter, bring listeners on science and space adventures. Explore the cosmos alongside astronauts, scientists, engineers, and other NASA experts in science, space exploration, and aeronautics.
      NASA’s Sun + Eclipse Series is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Curious Universe is written and produced by a team at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
      Discover more original NASA shows at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts
      -end-
      Melissa Howell
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-961-6602
      melissa.e.howell@nasa.gov
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
      Podcasts Eclipses Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
    • By NASA
      2 Min Read NASA Volunteers Find Fifteen Rare “Active Asteroids”
      NASA’s Active Asteroids project Credits:
      Henry Hsieh Some extraordinary asteroids have “activity”–comet-like tails or envelopes of gas and dust.  NASA’s Active Asteroids project announced the discovery of activity on fifteen asteroids, challenging conventional wisdom about the solar system.
      To find these fifteen rare objects, more than 8000 volunteers combed through 430,000 images from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco telescope in Chile. A paper about the results, now published in the Astronomical Journal, includes nine volunteers among the co-authors.
      “For an amateur astronomer like me it’s a dream come true.” said volunteer Virgilio Gonano from Udine, Italy. “Congratulations to all the staff and the friends that also check the images!”
      Volunteers from the NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project identified a comet tail coming from
      Asteroid 2015 VA108, one of the active asteroids spotted by volunteers from NASA’s “Active Asteroids” Citizen Science project. The object, indicated by the green arrow, orbits entirely within the main asteroid belt (located between Mars and Jupiter), but sports a tail like a comet. Credit: Colin Orion Chandler (University of Washington) Studying these rare active asteroids teaches scientists about the formation and evolution of the solar system, including the origins of water here on Earth. These objects may also aid future space exploration because the same ices that cause comet-like tails can power rockets or provide breathable air.
      “I have been a member of the Active Asteroids team since its first batch of data,” said volunteer Tiffany Shaw-Diaz from Dayton, Ohio. “And to say that this project has become a significant part of my life is an understatement. I look forward to classifying subjects each day, as long as time or health permits, and I am beyond honored to work with such esteemed scientists on a regular basis.”
      The Active Asteroids project was founded by Dr. Colin Orion Chandler, a LINCC Frameworks project scientist at the University of Washington and DiRAC Institute.  To join the project and help discover the next active asteroid, visit https://www.activeasteroids.net.
      Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share








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    • By NASA
      5 min read
      Eclipse Photographers Will Help Study Sun During Its Disappearing Act
      As the Sun temporarily disappears from midday skies over North America on April 8, 2024, hundreds of volunteers will capture photos of the total solar eclipse to help us better understand the Sun and its relationship with Earth.
      These photographers will be participating in three NASA-funded citizen science projects to study the Sun’s ghostly outer atmosphere – the corona – during totality, when the Moon completely covers the bright disk of the Sun and the corona is revealed.
      The Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, appears like a feathery white halo around the dark disk of the Moon during a total solar eclipse, as seen in this photo taken from Madras, Oregon, on Aug. 21, 2017. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani The corona is the birthplace of the solar wind – a constant stream of particles and material flowing from the Sun that impacts Earth and other planets. The best time to see the full range of dynamics in the corona is during a total solar eclipse.
      However, in any one location along April’s eclipse path, totality will last less than four and a half minutes – not long enough to watch the corona change. By staging observers all along the eclipse path, though, these NASA projects hope to essentially extend totality for over 90 minutes – the time it takes for the Moon’s shadow to cross from Mexico to Canada. Afterward, the projects will combine their images into “movies” revealing activity in the corona that would otherwise be hard to see.
      This map shows the locations of Eclipse Megamovie participants during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. Eclipse Megamovie/Jeffrey Reedy This map shows the locations of the DEB Initiative teams during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. Courtesy of GeoCollaborate/StormCenter Communications This map shows the locations of the CATE 2024 teams during the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. CATE 2024/SwRI/Sarah Kovac




      Eclipse Megamovie
      Eclipse Megamovie is a NASA-funded citizen science project that engages photographers across the United States to capture images of the Sun’s outermost atmosphere – the corona – during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Volunteers will use DSLR cameras on mounts that will track the Sun’s position in the sky to record changes in the Sun’s corona during the eclipse.
      NASA/Lacey Young Led by Laura Peticolas of Sonoma State University in California, the Eclipse Megamovie project is asking photographers to capture the corona using their own DSLR cameras on mounts that will track the Sun’s position in the sky during the eclipse.
      The project has already selected and sent tracking mounts to over 70 individuals who will be stationed along the eclipse path in the U.S. and Mexico. Over 80 additional photographers who have their own DSLR cameras and tracking mounts and who plan to be in the Moon’s shadow on April 8 have also joined the project. Others are welcome to participate if they sign up by March 18.
      “Citizen scientists are the perfect volunteers for this type of research,” Peticolas said. “They’re coming with their own cameras. They’re coming with the expertise on how to use those cameras. They’re coming with enthusiasm. And with this group of amazing volunteers, we’re going to get a dataset that is literally impossible to get in any other way.”
      The project is also seeking volunteers with experience in databases, Python coding, and machine learning to help process the images and reveal hard-to-spot changes in the corona.
      DEB Initiative
      The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, led by Bob Baer and Matt Penn of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, organizes volunteers as they capture images of the corona during the 2024 eclipse. Using identical instruments at more than 70 different locations across North America, participants document the moment-by-moment appearance of the corona throughout the eclipse.
      NASA/Beth Anthony The Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, led by Bob Baer and Matt Penn of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, has recruited 82 volunteer teams to image the eclipse from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.
      All teams, which range in size from a few people to as many as 30, have been selected and have received identical astrophotography equipment provided by the project. Many of them will be in the path of totality to capture views of the corona, but some will be outside the path, imaging the Sun itself.
      “We’re looking at the evolution of the solar corona along the entire path,” Baer said. “And we’re also looking outside of the path of totality at the solar disk to connect the changes we see in the solar corona back to the surface of the Sun.”
      During the eclipse, DEB teams will upload images of the partial phases every minute to the project’s image server, while some teams will also stream live video. During totality, teams in the path will collect images more rapidly, each contributing a single detailed image of the corona.
      CATE 2024
      Led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 project will place 35 teams in the eclipse path from Texas to Maine to capture the corona in polarized light.
      NASA/Joy Ng Led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) 2024 project will place 35 teams in the eclipse path from Texas to Maine to capture the corona in polarized light.
      Light travels in waves, but those waves can be oriented in different directions, or polarization angles. Caspi explains that light we see from the corona is sunlight that gets bounced around by the corona before it reaches our eyes. “That bouncing process makes the light polarized and it makes it go in a particular direction,” he said. “By measuring that you can understand what’s going on in the corona.”
      All of the CATE 2024 teams have been selected and have received identical telescopes, mounts, and cameras. Teams are currently practicing and receiving feedback in preparation for the eclipse.
      To learn more about these projects or to sign up to participate, visit the websites below.
      NASA Funds 3 Citizen Science Projects to Study 2024 U.S. Solar Eclipse
      Eclipse Megamovie
      DEB Initiative
      CATE 2024
      by Vanessa Thomas
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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      Last Updated Mar 14, 2024 Related Terms
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