Chasing the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse With NASA Jets - NASA Goddard - heliophysics,planetary science

A trio of NASA-funded teams will conduct research during the total solar eclipse of 8 April 2024 at 50,000 ft. in altitude in NASA's WB-57 jets.Two teams will image the Sun's outer atmosphere,the corona,while a third will measure the ionosphere,the upper electrically charged layer of the Earth's atmosphere,to ascertain how solar activity can disrupt communications and pose a radiation risk to astronauts.This data will help scientists better understand the structure and temperature of the corona;and even aid in the search for asteroids that may orbit near the Sun.