Nasa to chase Aug 12, 2026 total solar eclipse at 460mph with 86 balloons
NASA is launching an ambitious scientific campaign for the August 12, 2026, total solar eclipse, utilizing a high-altitude research jet and 86 balloons. The mission aims to study the Sun's corona and its impact on Earth's atmosphere as the eclipse crosses Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.
Why it matters
This research provides a rare opportunity to observe the solar corona, helping scientists better understand space weather and its potential effects on satellites and global communications.
For a few precious minutes the Moon can turn a bright summer afternoon into a strange twilight. Birds stop chirping, the temperature drops and the Sun’s brilliant outer atmosphere, the corona, looks like a glowing halo in the sky. Millions will be wowed by the spectacle of a total solar eclipse, but scientists see something even more amazing: a rare natural laboratory that can unlock secrets about the Sun and reveal how our own planet reacts when daylight suddenly vanishes.According to a latest report by the official NASA website, NASA-funded researchers will use this celestial event as the basis for one of the most ambitious eclipse science campaigns ever attempted on August 12, 2026.
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