MIAMI – Guoyong Wen is among the researchers from around the country who will be observing the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.
The NASA scientist working for Morgan State University in Baltimore will be gathering data. His team will be using a 3-D radiative transfer model, an advanced computer program that will help improve our knowledge on solar energy.
"This is the first time we’re able to use measurements from the ground and from space to simulate the moon’s shadow going across the face of Earth in the United States and calculating energy reaching the Earth," Wen said in a statement.
Wen and other scientists from around the country will only have a few minutes to collect data. Some will be studying radio waves and Einstein's theory relativity. Others will be looking at animal behavior.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research will be looking at the effect of magnetism on certain wavelengths. The National Science Foundation plane will be used to study the sun's corona.
NASA will be supporting 11 studies during the eclipse. Scientists at NASA are also giving citizen scientists an opportunity to help them study the solar corona in the Citizen CATE project. They are also collaborating on the Eclipse Mob project in a low-frequency radio wave propagation experiment.