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NASA And National Park Service To Present Briefings On Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse

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Published Date

June 15, 2017

For the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will cross the nation on August 21. Representatives from NASA, the National Park Service, other federal agencies, and science organizations will provide important viewing safety, travel, and science information during two briefings at the Newseum in Washington starting at 1 p.m. EDT on June 21.

The event will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website.

“The total solar eclipse of the sun in August reminds all of us all about our place in the solar system and our relationship with nature that’s all around us,” said Brian Carlstrom, the Park Service's deputy associate director of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. “Being able to view the eclipse from parks in the National Park System is another reminder of the value of the special places set aside for preservation and enjoyment.”

Over the course of 100 minutes, 14 states across the United States will experience more than two minutes of darkness in the middle of the day. Additionally, a partial eclipse will be viewable across all of North America. The eclipse will provide a unique opportunity to study the sun, Earth, moon and their interaction because of the eclipse’s long path over land coast to coast. Scientists will be able to take ground-based and airborne observations over a period of an hour and a half to complement the wealth of data and images provided from space.

 Logistics briefing: 1 to 2 p.m.

  • Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
  • Vanessa Griffin, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations in Suitland, Maryland
  • Brian Carlstrom, deputy associate director of Natural Resource Stewardship and Science at the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.
  • Martin Knopp, associate administrator of the Office of Operations in the Federal Highway Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.

 Science briefing: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

  • Thomas Zurbuchen
  • Angela Des Jardins, principal investigator of the Eclipse Ballooning Project at Montana State University, Bozeman
  • Angela Speck, professor of astrophysics and director of astronomy at the University of Missouri, Columbia
  • Dave Boboltz, program director of solar physics in the Division of Astronomical Sciences at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia
  • Linda Shore, executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in San Francisco
  • Matt Penn, astronomer at the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, Arizona

The panels will take questions from media participating in person and by phone. The public also can ask questions via social media during the briefings using the hashtag #eclipse2017.

The briefings will be held in the Knight Studio at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Space is limited.  

For more information on the eclipse, and how to safely view it, visit:

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Comments

Submitted by ecbuck on June 15, 2017 - 9:04am.

Wrong thread


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