Why look at the solar eclipse via balloon?

Angela Des Jardins, leader of the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project, talks about research during the eclipse from 100,000 feet up.

Vocabulary: solar eclipse, balloons, high-altitude, payload, inertia, atmosphere

Next Generation Science Standards: SEP1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems, ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System, and ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem. Can be used to build towards MS-ESS1–1.

Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9–10.4, and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11–12.4

Credit: Montana State University

Millions of people are making plans, from Oregon to South Carolina, to view the solar eclipse in the path of totality, where you’ll be able to see the moon completely cover the sun. But for those who can’t make it out, the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project has got you covered. The team of scientists and students are using weather balloons to livestream and capture images of the event from the edge of space. Physicist Angela Des Jardins, leader of the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project, and computer science student Levi Willmeth, who is part of the Oregon State University and Linn-Benton Community College Eclipse Ballooning Team, discuss the engineering behind the balloons and what data they hope to collect from the project.

Audio Excerpt “A View Of The Solar Eclipse From The Edge of Space,” August 11, 2017. (Original Segment)

Print this segment transcript.

Questions

• According to Angela Des Jardins, these are not your average party balloons. Why are these balloons so special? How do they provide a unique way to view the solar eclipse?
• On Monday, August 21, 2017, NASA’s Eclipse Ballooning Project will launch high-altitude balloons from 25 different locations. Why put so many balloons up, when one balloon can stream video for approximately 200-miles?
• Create experimental questions for the three research projects, based on the descriptions from the interview.
• Based on Levi Willmeth’s description, draw a diagram of the balloon with its payload of instruments.
• What other projects do you think use high-altitude balloons to collect data? Develop 2–3 ideas for how high-altitude balloons could be used in scientific research?

Montana State University Eclipse Ballooning Project team members Garrett Hilton, left, Katherine Lee, Berk Knighton and Micaela Moreni prepare to launch a high-altitude balloon during a test flight Wednesday, June 22, 2017 near Rexburg, Idaho. Credit: Kelly Gorham/Montana State University

Activity Suggestions

• Watch the livestream from NASA’S Eclipse Ballooning Project. Have students create different viewers to project the eclipse using this set of suggestions, and then use these activities to liven up your eclipse viewing party.
• Have students research the high-altitude balloons that Angela and Levi are using for this project. You can start here at the NASA Eclipse Ballooning Project. How are they similar and different from party balloons? Have students engineer helium balloons that can direct a “lens”/experimental payload to a specific location. Have them determine the type of data and observations this technique would be good at collecting. What kind of experiments or observational study would they design using this technique?

Additional Resources

Check out this Science Friday Spoonful that talks about six different research projects happening during the eclipse, including NASA’s Eclipse Ballooning Project.

Have students delve deeper into what scientists hope to learn about the sun’s corona during the eclipse.