MOSCOW, Idaho — A team of University of Idaho engineering students have been helping NASA plan a weather balloon launch during the upcoming annular solar eclipse to gather data.
Data scientists have been working on this for decades and believe it can improve global weather forecast models and climate change mitigation processes. U of I engineering students have been an integral part to gathering data.
U of I is a lead university in the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) and has been training four university teams across the U.S. all year long to successfully track and gather data on gravity waves using weather balloons.
“If we can improve long-term weather forecasting, that has a global impact on agriculture, aviation, the economy and so much more,” chemical engineering graduate student Konstantine Geranios said. “To do that, we need a lot of data.”
On Oct. 13 – 14, the U of I team will join 400 high schools and middle school students in Lakeview, Oregon to launch these weather balloons. This 30-hour launch session will be held during the annular solar eclipse.
“Gathering data to better describe these gravity waves could vastly improve our weather forecast accuracy and ability to anticipate large weather patterns,” said Matthew Bernards, U of I College of Engineering associate professor and co-project lead. “This is one of the last chances we have to get good data in the U.S., and we’re proud to be a part of the national team of university students committed to this project.”
High school and middle school students attending will get the chance to learn about gravity and the importance of the solar eclipse in a unique way!
The same group of U of I students will travel to Pennsylvania in April 2024 to launch the balloons during the total solar eclipse.
You won’t want to miss this, the next visible eclipse won’t be until 2044!
