Why NASA's High-Speed Jets Will Chase The Total Solar Eclipse On Monday

Two of NASA's WB-57 jet planes will be deployed to chase the eclipse to study the sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona.

NASA is gearing up for a total solar eclipse on Monday (April 8) when the moon's shadow will fall across a vast stretch of North America. To capture this rare event, two of NASA's WB-57 jet planes, equipped with special instruments, will be deployed to track the eclipse and study the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona. 

NASA aims to uncover mysteries surrounding the Sun. They hope to gain insights into the corona's structure and temperature, understand how the Sun affects our planet's ionosphere, and even detect hidden asteroids usually obscured by the sun's glare. 

Bharat Kunduri, lead researcher of the ionosphere measurement and a research assistant professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, said in a statement, "The eclipse basically serves as a controlled experiment. It gives us an opportunity to understand how changes in solar radiation can impact the ionosphere, which can in turn impact some of these technologies like radar and GPS that we rely on in our daily lives.”