{"id":56645,"date":"2024-04-05T06:48:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T06:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/b26d3498-b1d7-4d90-9e46-edc41faecc4b"},"modified":"2024-04-05T07:08:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T07:08:24","slug":"nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA will launch rockets to study how the eclipse affects radio communications, and you can watch live"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\">NASA is set to launch three rockets to study the eclipse. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Iain Todd\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Friday, 05 April 2024 at 06:48 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>NASA is going to launch three rockets into the shadow of the Moon during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/total-solar-eclipse-8-april-2024\">April 8 solar eclipse<\/a>, to measure how eclipses cause disturbances in Earth&#8217;s upper atmosphere and affect communications.<\/p><p>And you can watch the rocket launch live online via the window below.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Solar Eclipse Sounding Rocket Launches from NASA Wallops Flight Facility (Official Broadcast)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eqzUSLUAGE0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Known as the ionosphere, the region of the atmosphere that will be studied is 55 to 310 miles (90 to 500 km) above ground.<\/p><p>It forms the boundary between Earth&#8217;s lower atmosphere, where we live and breathe, and the harsh vacuum of space.<\/p><p>Three rockets will launch from NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility launch range in Virginia on April 8, with the launch window opening at 14:40 EDT.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/13181-soundingrocket-text-prores.webm\"\/><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Studying the eclipse and the ionosphere<\/strong><\/h2><p>The Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) mission will see three rockets launch in total: one 45 minutes before, one during and one 45 minutes after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/sun\/solar-eclipses\">solar eclipse<\/a>.<\/p><p>They will collect data on how the ionosphere is affected by the sudden disappearance of the Sun as the Moon passes in front of it during the eclipse.<\/p><p>The ionosphere consists of particles that become electrically charged by energy from the Sun.<\/p><p>But when a region of Earth is rotated away from the Sun and night falls, the ionosphere thins out because those particles that were previously charged &#8211; or ionised &#8211; become neutral again.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">How does a total solar eclipse affect Earth&#8217;s ionosphere and radio communications? That&#8217;s what NASA&#8217;s APEP hopes to find out when it launches on April 8 2024. Crdit: Li-Chun Chen, Sulawesi, Indonesia.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Weather on Earth and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/space-weather-met-office-predicting-solar-phenomena\">weather in space<\/a> can affect these particles, making the ionosphere difficult to study.<\/p><p>As the shadow of the eclipse is cast on Earth&#8217;s atmosphere, it triggers small disturbances in the ionosphere, which affect radio communications on Earth.<\/p><p>The aim of APEP is to gather accurate data to help scientists better predict these disturbances to our communications.<\/p><p>And because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/how-predict-eclipses\">astronomers can predict exactly when an eclipse will occur<\/a>, the three rockets are able to launch at the right time and to the right altitude, and obtain more accurate data than an Earth-orbiting satellite could.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/04\/nasa-apep-eclipse-1024x683.jpg?fit=800%2C534\" alt=\"The three APEP sounding rockets and the support team. Team lead Aroh Barjatya is at the top centre on the raised platform. Credit: NASA\/Berit Bland\" class=\"wp-image-149027\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The three APEP sounding rockets and the support team. Team lead Aroh Barjatya is at the top centre on the raised platform. Credit: NASA\/Berit Bland<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>&#8220;Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict disturbances is crucial to making sure our increasingly communication-dependent world operates smoothly,&#8221; says mission lead Aroh Barjatya, professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.<\/p><p>&#8220;Each rocket will eject four secondary instruments the size of a two-litre soda bottle that also measure the same data points, so it&#8217;s similar to results from fifteen rockets, while only launching three.&#8221;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/04\/bowwaves-bw-w121-n01-e30-ezgif.com-video-to-gif-converter.gif\" alt=\"Animation showing waves created by ionised particles during the 2017 total solar eclipse. MIT Haystack Observatory\/Shun-rong Zhang. Zhang, S.-R., Erickson, P. J., Goncharenko, L. P., Coster, A. J., Rideout, W. &amp; Vierinen, J. (2017). Ionospheric Bow Waves and Perturbations Induced by the 21 August 2017 Solar Eclipse. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(24), 12,067-12,073. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/2017GL076054.\" class=\"wp-image-149037\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Animation showing waves created by ionised particles during the 2017 total solar eclipse. MIT Haystack Observatory\/Shun-rong Zhang. Zhang, S.-R., Erickson, P. J., Goncharenko, L. P., Coster, A. J., Rideout, W. &amp; Vierinen, J. (2017). Ionospheric Bow Waves and Perturbations Induced by the 21 August 2017 Solar Eclipse. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(24), 12,067-12,073. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/2017GL076054.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-new-mission\"><strong>A new mission<\/strong><\/h2><p>This is not the first time the APEP rockets have launched, either.<\/p><p>Their first mission was during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/october-14-annular-solar-eclipse\">October 2023 annular solar eclipse<\/a>, and at that time the rockets recorded saw a sharp reduction in the density of charged particles.<\/p><p>&#8220;We saw the perturbations capable of affecting radio communications in the second and third rockets, but not during the first rocket that was before peak local eclipse,&#8221; says Barjatya.<\/p><p>&#8220;We are super excited to relaunch them during the total eclipse, to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their magnitude and scale remain the same.&#8221;<\/p><p><strong><em>Watch the launch via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@NASAWallops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NASA\u2019s Wallops\u2019 official YouTube page<\/a> and, if you happen to be in the area, you can watch in person at the NASA\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wallops\/visitor-center\/view-a-launch-from-nasa-wallops-visitor-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p><strong><em>Did you watch the launch of the APEP rockets? Let us know what it was like by emailing us via <a href=\"mailto:contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA is set to launch three rockets to study the eclipse. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":56646,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live.jpg",1200,618,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live-300x155.jpg",300,155,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live-768x396.jpg",768,396,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live-1024x527.jpg",800,412,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live.jpg",1200,618,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/04\/nasa-will-launch-rockets-to-study-how-the-eclipse-affects-radio-communications-and-you-can-watch-live.jpg",1200,618,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"NASA is set to launch three rockets to study the eclipse.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/56645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}