When a rare total solar eclipse occurs in North America on Monday, scientists will be able to collect invaluable data on everything from the sun’s atmosphere to strange animal behavior and even possible consequences for humans. The sun arrives at the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, setting the stage for a breathtaking display: The corona will shine spectacularly from the moon’s silhouette along its occupancy path, a corridor stretching from Mexico to Canada across the United States. States. .

Total solar eclipses lead to “incredible scientific possibilities,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said at a press conference about the celestial event this week.

The US space agency is one of the institutions poised for eclipse, and plans to launch so-called “sounding rockets” to study effects on Earth’s upper atmosphere. Here’s a look at what researchers hope to gain from the upcoming eclipse:

atmosphere of the sun

If the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun and obscures it, the elusive outer edge of the Sun’s atmosphere, or corona, can be seen in a “very special way,” Melroy said.

“There are things going on with the crown that we don’t fully understand,” he said.

The temperature inside the corona increases with distance from the Sun’s surface; This is a controversial phenomenon that scientists have struggled to fully understand or explain. Solar flares, a sudden burst of energy that releases radiation into space, occur in the corona, as do solar bulges, huge formations of plasma protruding from the Sun’s surface.

During the eclipse, the lower part of the corona, where most of this activity occurs, can be seen more clearly when special instruments are used to cover the central part of the Sun, providing a great opportunity for study, Shannon Schmoll said. Director of the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.

Researchers are particularly excited about the Sun being at the peak of its 11-year cycle.

“We have a very good chance of seeing something spectacular,” Melroy said.

earth atmosphere

The total eclipse will also give scientists a chance to study changes in the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere, known as the ionosphere; This is important because it affects radio waves used for communication and navigation.

“Disruptions in this layer can cause problems with GPS and communications,” said Kelly Korrek, Eclipse program manager at NASA headquarters.

The ionosphere, where the Earth’s atmosphere meets space, is affected by the sun, which electrically charges the particles there throughout the day. Three NASA probes will be launched from Virginia before, during and immediately after the eclipse to measure these changes.

The significant reduction in sunlight triggered by the eclipse (more rapid and localized than a simple sunset) will allow researchers to learn more about how light affects the ionosphere, so they can better predict potential problematic disturbances.

Animal Behavior

Spectacular animal behavior has been observed during eclipses, with giraffes rearing up and roosters and crickets crowing and chirping. In addition to the drop in sunlight, temperature and wind conditions to which animals are sensitive may also drop significantly during the eclipse.

Ornithologist Andrew Farnsworth of Cornell University in New York State studies how eclipses affect birds by using weather radar to detect birds in flight.

During the last total solar eclipse visible from the United States in August 2017, scientists saw “a decrease in the number of animals flying around,” Farnsworth told reporters. According to the expert, the 2017 eclipse disrupted the daily activities of insects and birds but did not trigger the animals’ usual nocturnal behavior, such as bird migration or the emergence of bats.

Given that it is in April, birds may be more likely to migrate during the eclipse this time, he said.

“Such models are important for understanding how animals make sense of their world,” Farnsworth said.

A human miracle

“Eclipses have a special power,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters, encouraging people to feel a kind of awe at the beauty of our universe.

In 2017, researchers explored this feeling of awe using data from nearly three million Twitter users, now referred to as X.

According to Paul Piff, those on the so-called “path of totality,” where the moon completely occludes the sun, tend to use the pronoun “we” (as opposed to “I”) and express concern for other people. , professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine.

“We found that awe-inspiring experiences tune people, connect us to each other, connect us to beings larger than ourselves,” Piff said.

This year, he plans to examine whether the experience affected the political divide in society.

public scientists

Nearly 40 community science projects are planned around the eclipse, from using a phone app to record temperature and cloud cover to recording ambient noise during the event.

“We encourage you to help NASA observe the sights and sounds around you,” Nelson said.