Solar Eclipse 2024: NASA set up at Dallas Arboretum ahead of Monday's eclipse
DALLAS - NASA scientists are in place across the path of totality for Monday’s total solar eclipse, including at the Dallas Arboretum.
There is a lot NASA is hoping to be able to study during totality.
"Heliophysics is the study of the sun and everything it touches," explained Joe Westlake.
Westlake is NASA's director of heliophysics. He’s based in Washington D.C., but now in Dallas for the total solar eclipse.
"You wake up, sun rises in the east, sets in west, and we take it for granted," Westlake said. "That star has a huge impact on our day-to-day life."
Westlake explained that every 11 years the sun's magnetic field flips.
"Solar wind is more energetic and there’s a bigger impact on satellites and infrastructure because of that," he said. "When we witness the eclipse, the corona will be more twisted and odd to see compared to what we saw in the 2017 eclipse."
They are images NASA plans to capture from the sky.
"We have a set of jets following the eclipse, both looking at and trying to understand the ionosphere," Westlake said.
For those of us potentially below the clouds, Westlake said there will still be a lot to experience.
"Even if you are under dense cloud cover, you will still have the experience of the eclipse. You will still see darkness, it will still get colder, the atmosphere will change. Impacts of that are great," he said. "We get total eclipses because of the alignment of earth, moon, and sun is exact. It is an amazing thing, not every planet gets a total eclipse."
The alignment of the sun and moon have also helped some families align.
"We are from Boston, some from California, and Mexico," Amir Viskin said.
"At the last eclipse in 2017, I told Rosemary to reserve a spot on her couch because we were coming down," said Charlie Maubach, who is from Illinois. "She did not keep her spot on the couch for us. We are at a hotel. Our kids got first priority."
If there is cloud cover, it may raise the question of if you need your eclipse glasses on or off.
"One of the key things to think about when you look up at the sun on a normal day, your brain has the response, ouch that hurts," Westlake said. "As you get towards totality, that experience, the ouch that hurts, is turned off because it is not nearly as bright. But the UV that comes from the sun is still damaging to your eyes."
There is one surefire way to know if you need your glasses during the eclipse.
"When you look through the glasses and you can't see the sun, that is when you can take the glasses off," Westlake said.
And if it is sunny.
"You will see the last bit of sunlight come through the valleys of the moon, and you will see what is called the diamond ring," Westlake said. "You will see the topography of the moon. It's really amazing. I hope we get to experience that."
The Dallas Arboretum has been sold out for Monday's solar eclipse since December. But there are still a lot of educational opportunities for kids there on Sunday, including a hands-on science experiment and meet and greet with a retired NASA Astronaut.
Click here for more on activities at the Dallas Arboretum.
