Why NASA Will Fire Three Rockets At The ‘Ring Of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
An annular solar eclipse appears at a waterfront park in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Monday, May 21, 2012. … [+]
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NASA will send three rockets into the moon’s shadow next Saturday as the moon partially blocks the sun.
In what is an annular (ring-shaped) solar eclipse for a 125 miles-wide path through the U.S. Southwest and a partial solar eclipse for the entire Americas, the event will see a sudden drop in sunlight.
At the peak of the event, about 90% of the sun will be blocked by the moon. How that affects Earth’s upper atmosphere will be the target of the mission, which will see three sounding rockets launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, just outside the path of the “ring of fire.”
If it succeeds, it will be the first simultaneous measurements taken from different locations in a very special layer of Earth’s atmosphere during a solar eclipse.
As the annular eclipse on Oct. 14 passes over New Mexico, three scientific rockets will take to the skies! 🚀 🌑 ☀️
Learn more about the APEP mission, named for the ancient Egyptian deity who chased the Sun.https://t.co/FLvP6yo66D pic.twitter.com/J06vhKLVDg
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) October 4, 2023
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