SCSU Launching Weather Balloons to Study Impact of Solar Eclipses

(KNSI) – St. Cloud State University faculty and students are part of a group preparing to study the effects of solar eclipses on the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

Assistant Professor Rachel Humphrey says experts from across the country will be looking to see what data is gathered by the project. So far, the group has been testing its equipment in Mora.

Humphrey says it’s similar to the balloons used by the National Weather Service but these go much higher. Early trials have gone well. Humphrey says, “And what’s great is that, so far, we’ve had really successful launches, where our weather balloons have been tracked up to over 32,000 meters, so that is over 100,000 feet in altitude.”

Soon, they will begin launching from the Twin Cities. Humphrey talks about what the equipment is designed to measure.

She says, “What we’re curious to see is whether the process of the moon going in front of the sun can induce some gravity waves by changing the temperature of a certain area of the atmosphere, or just causing changes in pressure in general.”

The next partial solar eclipse will happen in October. A total solar eclipse is set for April 8th, 2024.

Humphrey is an expert in the troposphere, the lowest levels of the atmosphere. She says it is a fluid and gravity waves are best thought of as ripples through the system. She is excited to see if the stratosphere is affected similarly.

___