NASA Invites You to
Become a Citizen Scientist
During US Total
Solar Eclipse
Learn how you can
participate in a NASA experiment
By Rani Gran
and Kelsey Wright
NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
The public will have an opportunity to
participate in a nation-wide science experiment by collecting cloud and
temperature data from their phones. NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to
Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program Observer (NASA GO) is a citizen science
project that allows users to record observations with a free app. On Aug. 21,
NASA GO will feature a special eclipse experiment.
With the app and a thermometer, citizen scientists can help observe how the eclipse changes atmospheric conditions near them, and contribute to a database used by students and scientists worldwide in order to study the effects of the eclipse on the atmosphere. Observers in areas with a partial eclipse or outside the path of totality are encouraged to participate alongside those within totality.
NASA invites
eclipse viewers around the country to participate in a nationwide science
experiment by collecting cloud and air temperature data and reporting it via
their phones.
The Global
Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, Program is a
NASA-supported research and education program that encourages students and
citizen scientists to collect and analyze environmental observations. GLOBE
Observer is a free, easy-to-use app that guides citizen scientists through data
collection.
On Aug. 21,
a total solar eclipse will occur across the entire continental United States.
Crossing the country from Oregon to South Carolina over the course of an hour
and a half, 14 states will experience night-like darkness for approximately two
minutes in the middle of the day. The eclipse enters the U.S. at 10:15 a.m. PDT
off the coast of Oregon and leaves U.S. shores at approximately 2:50 p.m. EDT
in South Carolina.
All of North America will experience at least a partial eclipse. |
In order to
participate, first download the GLOBE Observer app and register to become a
citizen scientist. The app will instruct you on how to make the observations.
Second, you will need to obtain a thermometer to measure air temperature.
Observations
will be recorded on an interactive map.
To join in
the fun, download the GLOBE Observer app
https://observer.globe.gov/about/get-the-app. After you log in, the app
explains how to make eclipse observations.
To learn
more about how NASA researchers will be studying the Earth during the eclipse
visit: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-looks-to-the-solar-eclipse-to-help-understand-the-earth-s-energy-system
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