Original subtitles

The sun influences everything

we experience on earth. Earth

is so perfectly positioned to

experience this.

>> Totality hits.

>> This amazing phenomenon that

is so rare throughout the

universe.

>> This is a great time to

learn more about our own star

and how it affects our daily

lives.

>> Instant chills.

>> I burst into tears.

>> There's no other feeling

like it. It's insane.

>> Everybody should be watching.

>> Hello and welcome to NASAs

live coverage of the 2026 total

Solar Eclipse. We're at NASA's

Goddard Space Flight Center,

and over the next hour or so,

we'll be tracking the eclipse

as it races across the North

Atlantic and Europe. A total

solar eclipse occurs when the

moon moves between the sun and

earth, and completely blocks

the face of the sun, casting a

temporary shadow on earth.

People located within the

moon's shadow, also known as

the path of totality, will

experience a total solar

eclipse. The sky will darken

briefly as if it were dawn or

dusk. So, weather permitting,

people in the path of totality

will see the corona, the sun's

outer atmosphere, which is

normally hidden by the bright

face of the sun. Today's total

solar eclipse will sweep across

Greenland, Iceland, northern

Russia, Spain and a small

corner of Portugal. Many other

areas in the northern

hemisphere are already, or will

soon experience a partial solar

eclipse, including much of

Canada and parts of the

northern US. And for many along

the western part of the eclipse

path, such as mainland Europe

and Africa, the eclipse will

occur early evening, creating a

rare opportunity to see a

sunset eclipse. Over the next

couple of hours, we'll be

bringing you live feeds from

telescopes across Europe and

hopefully views of totality in

Iceland and Spain. Thank you so

much to our partners time and

date, southern Illinois

University and Exploratorium

for these views. During today's

show, we'll be joined by

experts to learn why celestial

events like these ones are

important to study, document,

and experience. And I have an

important reminder on that note,

when watching a partial solar

eclipse, you must always

use the right protection.

You can use safe solar

viewing glasses, like these

ones called eclipse glasses,

or a safe handheld solar

viewer like this. Or you

can use indirect viewing

methods as well. Regular

sunglasses, no matter how

dark, will not work and are

not safe for viewing the

sun, so be sure to stay

safe. Now let's head over

to my colleague Ernie

Wright, who can tell us

more about where the action

is happening today.

>> Thanks, Joy. I'm

standing in front of the

map that I made for the ecle

that we're going to experience

today. We're looking down at

the North Pole here, and the

red stripe is the path of

totality. Those are the

locations that will experience

totality today. As we animate

this, you can also see the much

broader penumbra shadow. That's

where the partial eclipse

occurs. But here comes the

umbra shadow. That's where

totality is happening inside

that little oval. It passes

over the east coast of

Greenland, the west coast of

Iceland, and across northern

Spain, where, as Joyce said,

they'll experience an eclipse

within an hour of sunset. So

they should have lots of

opportunities for really

beautiful photographs. And then

as the eclipse progresses and

that umbra disappears, West

Africa will also get an

opportunity to see a partial

eclipse. As that penumbra

shadow sort of slides off the

edge of the earth here. Now, as

we zoom up and look at Iceland

and Spain, Reykjavik is here in

that southwest corner of

Iceland. We're kind of crossing

our fingers for them because

it's a little bit cloudy there

right now. That umbra shadow is

traveling over 2000 miles an

hour as it passes through the

path and crosses the North

Atlantic, and then it runs into

Spain. Here, where we expect

more than 15 million people

will be watching this eclipse.

Some of them on the beach in

Mallorca, right before sunset.

So they should get some really

beautiful photographs over the

mountains to the west. Now, the

situation in the US is going to

look like this. That yellow

line is the southern limit of

the partial eclipse. So folks

south of that line, you're not

going to see an eclipse today.

But if you're north and east of

that line, you may already be

starting to see the partial

eclipse. It takes 2.5 hours for

that partial shadow to pass all

the way across the United

States. So it's not like

totality. You don't have to run

out there at the exact moment.

Some places will have a partial

eclipse that lasts for almost

2.5 hours. Others maybe just an

hour. So this is the situation

right now. Montana, your

eclipse is over. The shadow is

passing out of North Dakota.

But Minnesota, Wisconsin,

Michigan, you're in it. The

northeast is also in it. And

for folks in the Mid-Atlantic,

you will be in it soon enough.

Now, before you run outside to

look at your eclipse that's

happening right now, we want to

show you a short video about

how to observe the eclipse

safely.

>> If you'd like to find and

explore the animated eclipse

maps yourself like the ones

Ernie was referencing, safety

instructions and much more

about today's eclipse, head to

science.nasa.gov/eclipses. So

next, I'd like to introduce our

first guest. Here in the studio,

we have Doctor Kelly Couric,

who is one of NASA's

heliophysicist who studies the

sun and its effects across the

solar system. And she's also

studied the sun's corona in

great depth. Thank you so much

for helping us kick off today's

coverage.

>> It's great to be here. Joy.

>> So let's talk about why we

don't always see eclipses on

earth. We've got this awesome

model here called an Ori. So

using this, can we talk about

their orbits and why we don't

see it every month?

>> Yes. So here we have the sun,

the moon and the earth. And as

we move, we can see that the

moon is not exactly on the same

line that we have with the sun.

So the earth can view the sun

pretty well. But when we get it

to about here, we can see that

sometimes maybe a little

further.

[LAUGHTER]

Sometimes it lines up perfectly

so that we're able to have that

eclipse. And that's when we

have that eclipse. So that five

degrees off ends up not having

eclipse every every new moon.

>> Okay. And so today's eclipse

will travel across Europe for

the first time since 1999. Can

you tell me why does that

region not experience eclipses

as often? And what is it that

makes this eclipse unique?

>> Right. So this eclipse is

unique because of the fact that

A it's near sunset. It's also

the fact that Europe doesn't

get as many, just simply as to

the location and any place on

earth really. It's three, about

300 to 400 years between the

time you get eclipses. So

there's a lot of ocean on the

earth that we just don't. It

just doesn't go over land. Plus,

with the with the angle, it

tends to move very quickly and

pass in and out. So they don't

get a lot of eclipses. And

again, it's super special being

near sunset. So being able to

see a sunset being eclipsed,

it's going to be really awesome

photos.

>> Okay. And I've also heard of

eclipse seasons. Can you talk a

bit about that?

>> Yeah. So eclipse season,

when eclipse happens like this,

that lineup means that you're

going to see the solar eclipse.

So either a partial annular or

total. And then you're going to

see a lunar eclipse about two

weeks later. So in about two

weeks we'll be able to enjoy

the orientation where the sun,

the earth is actually casting

the shadow on the moon and

having a lunar eclipse. So

that's the eclipse season.

h, fantastic. And I know

Europe is going to have another

eclipse happening in 2027,

which seems to be a lucky few

years for that region.

>> Yeah, definitely lucky. And

it's going to be a wonderful

eclipse and actually the

longest eclipse of the century.

So it's going to be six minutes

and 28 seconds. So that's a

very long one. Great for

scientific scientific

investigation.

>> Wow. And so eclipses can

occur somewhere on earth

roughly every 18 months or so.

So why is it that NASA

continues to study solar

eclipses.

>> Because because every

eclipse is a little bit

different. The sun changes as

it rotates or changes in its 11

year cycle. The earth and the

area of the earth that it

covers is different. So we make

sure that we study it each time.

>> Fantastic. Thank you so much,

Kelly. Thank you. So throughout

today's coverage, we'll be

joined by other NASA experts

like Doctor Kelly Couric, who

can answer any of your

questions that you have about

solar eclipses, the science

we're doing, and all the other

activities you're hearing about

today. You can ask your

questions in the chat on

YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and

Instagram, or tag NASA wherever

you're watching. We also have

questions we want to ask you

today. So if you want to head

over to NASA's Twitter or

Instagram Stories and take a

look at the poll we've got for

you, you can participate and

answer those questions. And so

before we go on, I just want to

point out that you may have

noticed a clock counting down

in the upper left corner of

today's show. We'll have two

different countdown clocks

displayed over the course of

the next hour that will let you

know how close we are to the

first instances of totality in

the telescope views we have in

Iceland and Spain, respectively.

Those are the two locations

where we hope our telescope

partners will be able to

capture the best views of the

sun being totally eclipsed by

the moon. We're tracking

totality in Reykjavik, Iceland,

at 1:48 p.m. eastern time or

5:48 p.m. local time, and that

will last about a minute or so.

And then we're going to set our

sights to Leon, Spain, for

totality there at 2:28 p.m.

eastern time, or 8:28 p.m.

local time, and the eclipse,

there will be about two minutes

long. So there's a lot of

science taking place during

those fleeting moments of

totality today in Iceland. And

we have experiments on the

ground and in the air and

in the view looking at

right now, there's a camera

that will be capturing the

view of the sun's corona

when it's time for totality.

When totality hits in

Iceland, the planes are

going to be chasing the

moon's shadow for as long

as they can. They're going

to be studying the sun's

corona, where the skies

will hopefully be clear up

there. The plane took off

from Keflavik Airport about

an hour ago, and then we're

going to be talking to the

science team live from Iceland

very shortly. Before we do that,

let's learn more about what

it's like to be a NASA pilot in

those eclipse experiments.

>> For most people, a total

solar eclipse lasts just a

few minutes, but NASA's pilots

find a way to make it last

longer by trying to outrun the

moon's shadow with an airplane.

>> The truth is, it's actually

chasing us. We get out in front

of it and let it overtake us.

Once we're in totality, then

we'll advance the throttles to

max and try and stay in

totality for as long as we can.

>> Making that happen takes

extreme precision. Scientists

calculate exactly where the

airplane needs to be at each

moment.

>> We do a lot of missions

where being in the right point

in time and space are critical,

and this is one of them.

>> On eclipse Day, the WB 57

aircraft climbs more than

50,000ft into the stratosphere.

That's above most of Earth's

atmosphere, where clouds, dust

and water vapor could obscure

the view.

>> Viewing an eclipse from

50,000ft provides a really

clear shot of the sun, and that

allows the scientists to have

confidence that the data that

they're seeing is from the sun,

rather than distortions from

the atmosphere.

[MUSIC]

>> When the moon's shadow

arrives, it engulfs the

aircraft.

[MUSIC]

>> It's weird, right? Where

you're at, it's dark, but

everywhere you see it's

twilight and the temperature in

the cockpit drops, so it's very

noticeable.

>> As the eclipse unfolds.

[MUSIC]

The pilot keeps the aircraft on

course, while the sensor

operator fine tunes the cameras,

capturing every second of data.

>> You're very, very, very busy

and it's very high pressure

because of course, there's no

do overs. You only get one

opportunity to get all the

instruments trained on the

right spot.

>> For the aircraft crew, it's

a chance to witness one of

nature's most spectacular

events while helping scientists

better understand our sun.

>> I'm sitting in the best seat

in the house. It's pretty

exciting.

[MUSIC]

>> Wow, what a job they have

today for this eclipse. The WB

57 aircraft has a camera on the

nose of the plane that will be

capturing images of the sun's

corona. To learn more. Let's

chat with principal

investigator Amir Caspi, who is

chatting with us live from

Keflavik Airport in Iceland. Hi

Mia, thank you so much for

joining us today.

>> Hi, Joy. It's a pleasure.

>> So firstly, how are you

feeling right now? And can you

tell us what experiment you're

doing today?

>> Yes. Well, feelings are

mixed today because as you can

see behind me, the sky is not

very great for those of us here

on the ground. On the other

hand, we have an airplane

that's now cruising at 500 zero

feet above sea level. That's

preparing to observe the

eclipse in just about 14

minutes. And we are going

to be imaging the solar

corona with an instrument

that has four cameras on

board, with observations

ranging from visible light

through near-infrared all

the way to the mid-wave

infrared, which we often

refer to as the thermal

infrared to make new

observations of the corona

and learn all about coronal

structure and dynamics.

>> What is it about the corona,

the sun's outer atmosphere that

we're still trying to better

understand?

>> Well, you know, we've known

for about 100 years now that

the corona is incredibly hot.

It is millions of degrees hot,

even though the solar surface

is only a few thousand degrees.

And we're still trying to

understand exactly how the

corona's magnetic field carries

that energy up from the solar

surface into the corona, to

heat it to those high levels.

Our observations today will

open new discovery space with

wavelengths that are very

rarely observed, that will

allow us to apply physics

models to better understand

how that corona is heated.

We'll also be looking at

the structures of

prominences or material

from lower down. That's

kind of suspended in the

corona that we're still

trying to understand,

especially in these

infrared wavelengths where

we don't have a lot of

observations. And all of

this will also help us to

understand, of course, the

sources of space weather that

affect us here on earth.

>> And so I know you flew this

experiment and a similar one

during the 2024 and 2017 total

solar eclipses. What did you

learn from those eclipses, and

are you making any changes to

your experiment for this

eclipse?

>> In 2017? Our first attempt

at this kind of observation, we

didn't even know what we were

going to see. And measuring in

the mid wave, infrared revealed

new observations and new

measurements that I think

opened up the possibilities of

lots of future experiments to

try to better understand this

emission from the sun. In 2024,

we flew an upgraded instrument,

the same one that's flying.

This year it has four cameras

measuring across nine different

wavelength bands, and we

learned quite a lot, although

we're still analyzing that data.

So I don't have any results to

share with you right now,

except to say that we saw some

amazing structures and it will

be very interesting once we

complete our analysis.

>> Yeah, I'm looking.

>> Forward this year we're

flying the same. Oh, sorry. Go

ahead.

>> No, no go ahead.

>> For this year. We're flying

the same instrument and we're

not making any changes to it

from 2024, except that we're

applying all of the lessons

that we learned from the prior

flights, including being able

to fine tune the observing time

and the observing procedures.

And of course, we also now have

our data analysis pipeline

that's already made from 2024,

which will allow us to combine

this data with the data from

two years ago to make new

scientific measurements much

faster than we were able to do

in the past.

>> Thank you so much. I know

the plane is about to be

capturing the eclipse in about

13 to 14 minutes, so best of

luck out there. And thank you

so much for joining us.

>> It's my pleasure. Thank you

so much.

>> So let's take a look at the

telescope views right now. The

partial solar eclipse has just

begun in Spain. You can see a

little sliver of the sun that's

been cut off on the one of the

sides. The moon has just

started to move in front, and

it'll take roughly an hour or

so before it completely covers

the bright disk of the sun.

Thank you again to our partners

for these beautiful telescope

views of the solar eclipse.

We're about ten minutes away

from totality in Reykjavik,

Iceland. The telescopes the

telescope views there are

cloudy at the moment, but what

we're seeing in front of us are

views from Spain. And hopefully

the skies stay clear for Spain.

And fingers crossed that is

what we want for a total solar

eclipse is clear skies. So

before totality comes, we have

a few minutes to show you

different types of science NASA

has been conducting in Iceland

for years. Iceland is a great

place for astronaut training

due to its terrain. A few years

ago, the Artemis two crew and

the science team spent some

time there to prepare for the

Artemis two mission. Let's

learn more.

>> Iceland is a really

wonderful place. It's a great

place of interest for for

geologists, but it's also a

wonderful analog. On Artemis,

we'll visit the lunar south

pole, we'll make observations

from orbit, and we have a whole

new set of science questions

that we hope that Artemis

astronauts will help us answer

for the moon and Mars, which

are, of course, planetary

bodies we're really excited

about for human spaceflight,

specifically for the moon. We

have features here in Iceland

that are geologically relevant

to the moon, and also just have

a sense of scale and a sense of

identity that really mimic what

we know. The lunar surface

looks like there's a reason

Apollo astronauts trained here,

and there's a reason we're

bringing Artemis crew here. Now,

this is just a really wonderful

place to learn about processes

that shape the moon and to

really understand what it feels

like and what it takes to

actually navigate and do an Eva

or a spacewalk on the lunar

surface.

>> In Iceland, we are doing

field work. We're training crew

members. This is a key location

for training for Artemis crews.

Here we see in real time

volcanic features that were

created not long ago. It's a

real special place for doing

training for geology.

>> I'm here in Iceland training

the Artemis two crew in geology.

There's really transformational

science that we can learn by

getting boots back on the moon,

getting samples back, and being

able to do field geology with

trained astronauts on the

surface, making observations

that only they can make from

that perspective.

[MUSIC]

>> Start to see maybe softball

size, like.

>> It's a fantastic place here

in Iceland to be able to train

geology. Also, navigation

skills are another big

component of what we're doing

out here in a beautiful

environment like this out here

camping and in the highlands of

Iceland.

>> Wow, what an office to work

in. So later on in our coverage,

we're going to be taking a

closer look at the student

ballooning experiments as well.

And that's been taking place in

Iceland for the past 24 hours.

But now we're going to be

chatting with Marie Henderson,

who is the Artemis two lunar

science deputy lead. She has

experienced training in Iceland

and has a key role in Artemis

two lunar flyby data collection.

Marie, thank you so much for

joining us.

>> Thank you so much for having

me today.

>> So during the Artemis two

mission, the astronauts were

lucky enough to see a total

solar eclipse from space. Not

to be corny, but that's what I

call sun and moon joy.

[LAUGHTER]

Was that something that was

planned from your side?

>> We knew that it was a

possibility that we could have

a solar eclipse during our

lunar flyby. So months before

we prepared our lunar imaging

procedures, some of that based

on what we learned during the

Apollo program, but also some

that we learned from imaging

that took place during the 2024

solar eclipse. And so we use

that to prepare our cameras.

But also once we realize we're

coming up on a launch day,

especially in April, where

there was that possibility, we

had to go back and we had extra

time to train the crew on what

they were going to be seeing

during this eclipse and what

types of observations. The

scientists were really excited

to learn from them for.

>> Wow, what a lucky alignment

of stars. Yes. Is seeing an

eclipse from space any

different from earth? Do they

see different things and did

they have to wear eclipse

glasses?

>> Yes, the crew did have to

wear eclipse glasses. And so we

got those manifested, as you

can see on your screen, to for

them to have to make safe

observations. One of the large

differences between what the

crew saw as they went around

the moon and from here on earth

is we look at an eclipse

through Earth's atmosphere. And

so they didn't have to do a

look through an atmosphere as

they're going around the moon.

So they're able to see the full

extent of that corona, as well

as the zodiacal light in the

solar system.

>> And how long was the eclipse

up there?

>> It was about 53 minutes long,

so they got a much longer

chance to look at that eclipse.

>> Wow, what an opportunity.

What was the day like for you

in the. Sir?

>> It was a very exciting day.

We. This was not something that.

We really knew exactly how it

would be. And so we had just

had a beautiful lunar flyby of

the illuminated portions of the

moon. And then we turned to

watch this eclipse and the

descriptions that we heard

coming down saying that they

were, you know, this is sci fi.

And they couldn't even imagine

in this glow. We didn't see

that in our coverage. But once

those images started coming

down that night, it was mind

blowing to see exactly what

they're describing. And I wish

I was there myself.

>> Same. Well that's incredible.

So Artemis two has just

launched. And so we have

Artemis three to look forward

to. Can you tell me how you're

preparing for that mission?

>> Yeah. So Artemis three is a

different type of mission.

We're not going to be going to

the moon. We're actually going

to be working in earth orbit.

And so this will give us an

opportunity to test our human

landing systems, which will be

the spacecraft that we take

down to the surface of the moon.

And so we'll work to hopefully

dock with one or both of the

human landing systems. And but

we're also going to have an

opportunity to do a lot of

science at earth, because this

will be a new unique viewing

orientation as well.

>> Wow. What an exciting few

milestones to look forward to.

Well, Marie, thank you so much

for joining us today.

>> Thank you so much for having

me.

>> So if you've just joined us,

take a look at these maps that

we're showing you right now

that's showing the path of the

moon's shadow. You can see that

it's close to reaching Iceland.

We're about five minutes away

from totality in Reykjavik. And

over in Spain, you can see that

we have about 45 minutes left

until totality reaches them. So

these are views from Villa

Lobato in Spain that we're

seeing right now. And if we

switch back to the map, you'll

see that the moon's shadow

actually looks pretty slow as

it's traveling across down

towards Spain, but it's

actually traveling at over

2000mph. These maps were made

by my colleague Ernie Wright,

who used various NASA satellite

data to create super accurate

maps for us. If you want to

view and download them

yourselves, you can visit

science.nasa.gov. So now let's

welcome back NASA

Heliophysicist doctor Katie

Couric. Kelly, how are you

feeling about today's eclipse?

>> I'm excited for everyone,

and I know those clouds are a

little worrying in Iceland.

That's one of the reasons we

had the plane, but also joyful

to see the balloons that are

going to be launched as well as

as as seeing it in Spain. So

really excited.

>> Yes. And I'm sure the NASA

pilots must be excited as well

on the plane.

>> Yes, exactly. It's a great

view. It really is a great view

from that.

>> So here we're seeing a live

view from the WB 57 aircraft

sensor. Right now. They are

moments away from seeing the

moon shadow hit earth. And also

chasing the eclipse. And the we

haven't actually seen the view

of the corona yet from the nose,

but they will will be capturing

images once totality hits

Iceland. And on the right hand

side, we're seeing a partial

eclipse from Norway, which is

really exciting. So we have

places across Europe that will

be able to witness a partial

solar eclipse. There will be

many, many people here that

will be able to experience this

amazing celestial event. So

we're let's see how many. We're

about five minutes, six minutes

away from totality in Iceland.

Yeah. If we what do we expect

to see right before totality?

>> Right. So right before

totality, we're in that partial

eclipse that's going deeper and

deeper. And you start to see

things go dark. So even if

there are clouds, it's going to

get a little bit darker. The

weather is going to drop too,

because again, you've blocked

out some of the sunlight, so

you're going to get cooler.

There's some wind that will

pick up. So the eclipses are

really full body experiences.

You might also notice that

animals react as well. It's not

just humans that experience

this, but if there are any

animals, they might start to

pretend that it's nighttime or

realize it's nighttime and and

start to kind of nest. And this

is very unique for that part of

the world because right now

they're on almost 24 hours of

sun. So they are going to be a

little shocked by this. And so

you'll be experiencing a lot of

different things, even if you

don't get to see the beautiful

corona.

>> Yeah. I'm thinking about

everyone on the ground in

Iceland right now that they may

be seeing clouds, but can you

tell me how does the climate

shift when an eclipse happens?

Because I've heard that the

weather can change drastically.

>> Definitely. So from personal

experience, in 2017, I was in

South Carolina and there were

thunderstorms. And during

totality, it started just

around the sun and was able to

actually fully enjoy the

eclipse and see my first total.

That was my first total solar

eclipse. So there is hope that

though, that the clouds are

influenced by that change in

day night, that that eclipse

that's coming through. So we're

hoping that some of the winds

and some of that changes could

change things for Iceland.

>> Okay. So we're seeing right

now on screen a live telescope

view from Spain. And that's

because the telescope view is

in Iceland are obscured by

clouds. But as Kelly mentioned,

I'm hoping that the clouds will

part and the weather will

change for them. Anything can

happen at this point, right?

>> Right. Anything can happen.

And also we'll talk about a

little later. But the balloon

experiments, they are testing

the atmosphere. The atmosphere

of the earth is still being

affected even if there is cloud

cover. And that helps us with

predicting weather models. So

it's not just about the corona

science, which is something

that I'm very passionate about,

but it is also about

understanding our planet and

how it interacts with.

Interacts with the sun and the

light that we're getting from

it. And you see, oh, we're

starting to see something in

the WB 57. It's getting very

close. They were they were in

there. So that's a yeah. Okay.

>> Wow. Okay. So everyone who's

watching right now the right

hand box. You will see the live

views from the WB 57 aircraft.

That's where the NASA pilots

are chasing the eclipse

from the skies. So Kelly,

can you tell me why? What

are the benefits of

observing the eclipse from

up there.

>> From observing up there

at 50,000ft? Wow. Okay, so

I'm looking at these. These

are great 50,000ft. You're

able to get above all the

clouds. So they're above

all the clouds. And we're

able to again, allow it to

overtake us. So they they

get a few more seconds of

totality. You saw that

beautiful pink filament on

the sun. That is the something

that Amir talked about is that

filament, that material that

comes off the sun that can

actually create space weather

and affect our power grids here

on earth. It can affect our GPS.

So if you ever use your your

maps to get anywhere, that's a,

that's something that we can,

we need to understand and be

able to predict. It also

affects our astronauts, our

dear, our dear astronauts. So

making sure that they're okay.

So those things are really

important to study. And one of

the reasons why we have the WB

57, it's a little hard to see.

But in the words on the right

hand side, you see that pink

filament now on the WB 57 feed

which is on the right hand side.

And yeah so you can see it in

the the envies area now

kind of right in the center.

You're seeing that

prominence. And so this is

amazing data. And it might

not look as crisp as we're

used to. You know, we're

used to 4K down here. But

this is really data

scientists can love because

this is telling us very

specifically about part of

the data. So it's like

taking only a little part

of the TV stream in and

really getting the

information about the ion

or the oxygen or the

specific composition of

what that's made of. And if

we know what it's made of,

we can do more science with

it.

>> So we're about like a

minute and a half away from

totality in Iceland. And so

we have a minute and a half

of the clouds to part.

[LAUGHTER]

So the sun view that you're

seeing here that is not of

Iceland, but that is of the

partial eclipse in Spain.

Iceland is still being covered

with clouds, but totality will

hit them in about a just a

minute or so. And luckily our

airplane, the WB 57 aircraft,

they're going to be getting

clear views of the eclipse from

the skies. So we're going to be

seeing what the camera on the

on the nose of the plane will

be seeing in roughly one minute,

which is so exciting.

>> So exciting. Yes, definitely.

And you are starting to see

some of the, the what would be

a diamond ring effect. So those

little pink things that you're

seeing, this is when happens

when light passes through the

valleys of the moon. So you

don't have a perfect circle in

the moon. It has those craters

and there's that diamond ring

effect. So yeah, so just

absolutely beautiful. And

that's when you still should

have your, your glasses on. And

when that ends, that's when

we're able to do it. And I

want to comment, this is an

experiment, right? And so

this is part of the reason

why we're seeing kind of

the, the arrows or the

crosshairs go in and out.

We are real time. This is

real time live. How science

happens is that we are

trying to make sure to make

adjustments and make sure

we're getting an image.

>> Wow. Yeah. So we are

eight, seven seconds down

to totality in Iceland.

This is really exciting.

We're getting a shot of the

ballooning experiment as

well. This is the

nationwide eclipse

ballooning project. They've

been launching balloons during

for the past 24 hours leading

up to this eclipse, which is so

exciting. And I can see that

they're getting really excited

as well, despite the clouds,

because they can actually still

collect data even though they

can't see the eclipse. Is that

right?

>> Exactly. They can still

collect data. They are still

experiencing a little bit of

that darkness. It's obviously

darker. See, it's definitely

darker, even though you can't

see the corona itself. And a

little bit looks like sunset

around the 360 degrees. And,

you know, hopefully we'll see

this in Spain where it will be

very vivid imagery there.

>> Yeah. So it looks like

totality has hit Iceland, which

is so exciting. You can see

that the ballooning team is

engulfed by darkness here. So

that is so, so exciting. I can

see them smiling. Yeah. Oh my

goodness. So why do we see a

360 degree sunset during an

eclipse?

>> Because there is light on

either side. It's just simply

blocking out in that specific

shadow. So it's like the sun

has gone down just in that one

location. But you know, the

rest of the earth is still

illuminated. So you still have.

Oh, wow. That is that is images

of the sky and the airplane. We

are seeing the airplane.

>> Wow. So we have

experiments happening in

the air and on the ground

in Iceland, which is so

exciting. Wow. So and then what

we're seeing now is the partial

eclipse happening in Norway.

They will just be experiencing

a partial. But in Iceland they

are experiencing totality.

Right now. We have experiments,

balloons, capturing data in the

skies, and also a plane

capturing data in the skies as

well.

>> Yes we do, and it's really

interesting looking at the sun.

There are some features, those

lines that you see, the dark

lines, those are magnetic

features. And those again, are

the exciting things we want to

know about for, for space

weather. And so to better

understand that, so the sun has

given us some very interesting

things to look at. And those

experiments will really, really

help us.

>> Yeah. And so this is why

eclipse observations and

eclipse chasing is so critical

because even though they happen

often, and even though we know

exactly when they're going to

happen, you never know when the

weather will just obscure your

view. So we can we want to take

every opportunity we want we

can to get observations.

>> Definitely.

>> So, okay, so if you were in

Iceland and you were either

seeing clouds or you were able

to see the eclipse, please

share your experience with us.

We want to know what you

experience on the ground.

Please tag at NASA wherever

you're watching. So we have a

lot of questions coming in here

from social media. So Kelly,

shall we dig into these

questions?

>> Yes, let's dig in.

>> Alrighty. So we have Bo on

Facebook and they ask, are we

really going to lose gravity

during the eclipse?

>> No, we are. Not gravity.

Really the stuff that sticks us

to the earth. The Earth's mass

has not changed because of this

eclipse. And so we're going to

stay grounded on this earth.

>> Okay? Noted. Gravity will

not change, not change. Okay,

so we have another question

from X. And they ask, how much

can we actually learn about the

sun during just a few minutes

of totality compared to years

of normal observations?

>> This is it's really about

having all of the observations,

right? We definitely need that

totality because the moon just

happens to fit so perfectly

over the surface of the sun

that we can see from that

surface outward for that space

weather, whereas some of our

instruments aren't quite that

that close in. So we need to

knit them together and use both,

both the, the couple of minutes

from the eclipse, as well as

the years of observations from

our NASA satellites.

>> Okay, well, I'm glad that we

have both ways of getting

observations.

>> Exactly.

>> So we have another question

here from Elena on YouTube. And

they asked, why does the

weather change in a solar

eclipse?

>> That's a good question. And

I think that's something still

trying to be understood. But if

you imagine you've heated,

you've stopped heating

something up temporarily. So

things sink right? When things

get cold, they tend to sink.

And so the air is moving and it

starts to create winds. And

when you create winds, you

start to cool things down. So

the weather changes due to just

turning on and off the light

alone, because the sun is so

important to us and actually

regulating our weather.

>> Wow. Okay, so we have

another question here from

Frank Perez on X. And they ask

for sending teams to do

research in the path of

totality. How do you balance

the crew training value of

Iceland's terrain against the

statistical odds of clear skies

in Spain?

>> And we definitely addressed

both, right? There were there

are great things to do with the

atmospheric work, especially in

the in the Arctic areas for for

the balloons that we sent to

Iceland. And then we had a team

in. We have teams in Spain also

doing that. So it was a it was

a balanced portfolio. We made

sure that we had both types of

experiments available.

>> Okay. Thank you so much. So

keep your questions coming in.

We'll be answering more later

on in the show. And so earlier,

I also mentioned that we had

questions for you, the viewers

as well. You can head over to

NASAs, Twitch and Instagram to

weigh in on a couple of those.

So here are a, here are some of

these questions that we posed

to you. So Kelly, let's see

what those questions are. So if

you had to pick where you would

watch the eclipse from out of

these special locations listed.

Yes. I'm going to ask you this,

Kelly, which ones would you

choose? So we have the

International Space Station, a

high altitude plane, an

observation, an observatory

telescope room, and a NASA

chase jet.

>> It would be a tough choice

between International Space

Station or high altitude plane.

They've got such a huge

overview. It's great.

>> Yeah, I think I would choose

the same too. Yeah. So thank

you to everyone who has

participated so far. We're

going to check back into those

results a little bit later on.

So next let's head back to the

ground in Iceland. We have

another NASA funded experiment

there involving balloons,

students that are part of the

nationwide eclipse Ballooning

project. They've been launching

balloons continuously

throughout the eclipse, and

we're going to be chatting with

them live from Iceland shortly.

But first, let's learn more

about their eclipse project.

>> Teams of students from

across the United States have a

unique vantage point of total

solar eclipses. Thanks to

scientific balloons.

>> The nationwide Eclipse

Ballooning project is a NASA

mission like adventure and

collecting data from balloons

that go high up into the

atmosphere.

>> Started in 2014, the project

engages college students and

high schoolers in one of two

distinct paths.

>> One is the engineering track

that has mostly engineering

students that get to tinker on

different payloads, and the

other track is an atmospheric

science track, where they'll

actually be launching weather

sensors to study the impact of

the eclipse.

[MUSIC]

>> Atmospheric science teams

launch helium filled weather

balloons, the same as those

used by the National Weather

Service, every hour for hours

before and after an eclipse,

engineering teams fly larger

balloons laden with cameras and

experiments. They build

themselves 100 zero zero zero

feet up into the stratosphere.

From there, they study a

variety of things, such as

incoming cosmic radiation and

ozone levels, as well as

offering dramatic views of the

moon's shadow on our planet.

>> The project is really a

unique one in that it's both an

education but also doing

amazing science that's both

about the eclipse itself and

also the atmospheric response

of the eclipse.

>> Student balloon teams made a

historic first during the 2019

eclipse. They measured eclipse

driven atmospheric gravity

waves in Earth's stratosphere,

or large ripples in the air

caused by the temporary cooling

due to the drop in sunlight.

>> What excites me the most

about this project is thinking

about the experiences that the

students have that they'll

remember forever.

[MUSIC]

>> Woo woo woo. Look at that

beauty. All right, this is not.

>> Talking to us live from

Mosfellsbaer in Iceland. We

have Jared and Tessa who are

part of the nationwide eclipse

ballooning project. Jared and

Tessa, thank you so much for

joining us. I know you just

experienced the total eclipse

in Iceland. How was that for

you?

>> It was awesome. I mean, it's

definitely cloudy here, which

is a shame, but we saw the

lights dim. It was almost as if

you were indoors and it was

just you were dimming the

lights. It was almost instant,

which is I've never been in the

path of totality before, so

I've never seen anything like

that. So it was, it was really

amazing.

>> Yeah. The wind totally

stopped it. Like it was windy

and then it just stopped the

birds. We had birds flying over

us all day and then they just

like disappeared. So it was a

little eerie, kind of creepy.

Wow.

>> That's amazing. I'm so glad

that you could experience that

even though, you know, you had

cloudy skies. So tell me more

about what you've been doing. I

see you've got balloons

launching in the background.

What are you measuring with the

balloons in Iceland?

>> So we have balloons that are

measuring a lot of different

things like temperature,

pressure, humidity, wind

direction, and speed. And this

is supposed to gather the

atmospheric changes during the

eclipse. So normally during the

day, air rises until it hits

less dense air. And this is

called the boundary layer. But

during nighttime, when the sun

is down, this air stops and

it's called boundary layer

collapse. So that's exactly the

same thing that happens during

the eclipse. And we're using

these radio signs to measure

the atmospheric changes, the

boundary layer collapse, and

then the recovery. And we're in

Iceland, not just because it's

in the path of totality, but

also its northern latitude and

its shorter nights make it

completely different boundary

layer. So it's been a really

cool opportunity to be able to

study that under the eclipse

under this unique conditions.

>> So you're both college

students right now. How long

have you been part of the

project and what made you want

to join the project?

>> Yeah, so we started this

project at the beginning of

June. So we've been working

with our teams, respective

teams of Tessa at the

University of Kentucky. And

then my team made up of

students from across Idaho. And

we've been meeting once a week

doing balloon launches,

preparing. And really what got

me into it was my ballooning

club that we have at the

University of Idaho, and we all

just, you know, we love the

science, we love the teamwork,

the team building. And so it's

been a lot of fun.

>> That's great. And so do you

have any tips for students who

are thinking about joining?

>> Yeah. So my biggest tip

would be to get involved. That

was how I learned about this

project was through my club.

The professor came to us and

was like, hey, there's this

really cool opportunity. And so

you guys should put an

application in. And then also

just, you know, what, if you

have internship opportunities

and you see those, you know,

just put an application in, you

never know what opportunity you

could get.

>> And then also, I would say,

if you have a class that you're

really interested in, just talk

to the professor, see if they

have need any help on the

research, because it really

gives you a good opportunity to

apply your classroom knowledge

to real life scenarios, which

you don't usually get in the

classroom. And you also never

know what opportunities will

arise like going outside the

country for the first time like

I'm doing right now.

>> So yeah. Oh, wow. That's

amazing. Well, best of luck. I

know you're launching

continuously after the eclipse

as well. So thank you so much

for joining me, Tessa and Jared.

>> Thank you.

>> So the nationwide Eclipse

Ballooning project are also

launching balloons in Spain as

well as Iceland. And I can't

wait to see their observations.

So if we head back to the map,

the moon's shadow is heading

towards Spain right now, and

we're roughly half an hour away

from totality in Leon, Spain.

For this eclipse, the moon's

shadow is roughly 182 miles

wide at its maximum width, and

it's traveling at over 2000mph.

And so here we're seeing

eclipse views as well in the

bottom corner in Leon, Spain.

And you can see the little bite

that the moon has taken out of

the sun. And we can't wait to

see totality there. It looks

like they have clear skies,

which is awesome. And so if you

are watching the solar eclipse

from the ground, remember to

wear safe solar viewing glasses

or eclipse glasses like these

ones here. The only time you

can take them off is during

totality when you're

experiencing it. If you're

watching the partial eclipse in

the United States, you can wear

eclipse glasses the entire time.

If you want to learn more about

eclipse safety, head to

science.gov. Eclipses. So total

solar eclipses give us a chance

to study the sun's corona in

greater detail, which helps us

learn about how it behaves and

affects us here on earth. The

sun is highly dynamic and

creates conditions in space

called space weather that can

affect our technology from GPS

systems and communication

satellites and airplanes, and

even our power grids on the

ground. But in order to better

understand it, we have a suite

of spacecraft that are

monitoring the sun from

different vantage points around

the clock. So let's learn more

about NASA's space weather

program.

>> Across our planet, billions

of people depend on the

invisible networks that connect

us to space every day. Those

networks are at the mercy of

our temperamental sun and the

space weather that it unleashes

across our solar system. That's

why NASA's space weather

program tracks solar storms

from the moment they erupt,

modeling their paths,

anticipating their impacts, and

leading the research that the

world's industries rely on.

[MUSIC]

NASA's space weather research

and modeling is driven by the

needs of society and enables

critical decision making that

equips pilots to reroute around

high radiation areas.

[MUSIC]

Farmers to adjust GPS based

precision planting and

harvesting plans, and power

grid operators to mitigate the

impacts of potential surges.

For those exploring other

worlds. NASA provides 24/7

space weather monitoring for

Artemis crews at the moon and

future Mars astronauts, who may

be exposed to dangerous levels

of radiation during solar

storms. Whether you're a pilot

or a passenger, a farmer or a

consumer, a power grid operator

or energy customer, a satellite

controller or GPS user, space

weather impacts us all.

>> If you're just joining us,

welcome to NASA's live coverage

of today's total solar eclipse.

We're roughly about 2425

minutes away from hopefully

seeing the first instance of

totality in Spain. So stay

tuned for that exciting moment.

And so joining me in the studio

now is one of NASA's space

weather analysts, Karina Aldan.

Karina, thank you so much for

joining me.

>> Thanks for having me.

>> So your role involves

monitoring the sun in real time.

Can you talk a little bit about

what you do?

>> Yes of course. So what we do

is we basically

>> Observe, model, analyze, and

then we document it. And so

what we're observing is usually

those coronal mass ejections,

or as I lovingly like to call

them, sun burps. And we're

measuring those seeing where

they go. And then we're

modeling them to see what NASA

missions are possible planets,

they impact. And then from

there, we're documenting it and

notifying NASA missions about

potential impacts.

>> And so we just learned a

little bit about NASA's space

weather program. How does

monitoring space weather affect

the everyday person?

>> Yeah. So most of the time

the everyday person is going to

see it in terms of northern

lights. But what we do also see

is some of that impact to the

GPS as you're navigating.

Sometimes it'll be a little

wonky and you don't really know

why, but that could possibly be

due to some solar storming

happening. And then we may also

see some impacts to

agricultural folks who are

using tractor precision farming.

>> And so back in 2024, we saw

these huge solar storms. Can

you tell us how that storm

affected earth and if we had to

mitigate any of these effects?

>> Yes. So along with NOAA's

Space Weather Prediction Center,

we did have to do some

mitigation. But honestly, my

favorite part was seeing the

Northern Lights. And so 2024 is

when I first got to see the

Northern Lights. I saw them in

August. And then you're seeing

a picture that I took on my

phone where we saw them here in

Maryland, which was absolutely

incredible. And you can see a

picture of the team that I work

with, the Moon to Mars Space

Weather Analysis Office, along

with some of the Helio comms

folks, where we got to see it

down here in Maryland, which is

absolutely incredible.

>> Amazing. And so I know that

you were also part of the team

that monitored space weather 24

over seven during the Artemis

two mission, when we flew

astronauts around the moon.

[LAUGHTER]

What was that experience like?

>> Surreal. I mean, it's very

odd to be staring safely at the

sun via satellite imagery, but

not see it in person for an

extended period of time because

I was working the overnights.

But it was incredible, and I

loved seeing the solar eclipse

from space. I think if I were

to do it, I'd want to be one of

those astronauts.

>> Absolutely. Well, thank you

so much for joining us, Karina.

>> Thank you.

>> So next, let's hear from

NASA Administrator Jared

Isaacman and head of NASA

science, Nicky Fox. My

colleague Jasmine Hopkins

caught up with them a few days

ago to talk about why this

celestial event is so important

and what the 2026 eclipse can

teach us about the sun.

>> Today, I'm thrilled to talk

all things eclipse with NASA

Administrator Jared Isaacman,

who's leading our vision behind

science and why eclipses are so

important. And Doctor Nicky Fox

from our Science Mission

Directorate, who will tell us

what exactly is going on with

the sun during an eclipse? Are

you guys ready to talk?

Absolutely. Okay, fantastic.

Our opening question is for

both of you. Just a couple

months ago, we wrapped up the

historic Artemis two mission,

and now we're on the cusp of a

total solar eclipse. Can you

describe in one word how you're

feeling right now? Excited.

>> He took my word. Excited is

the right word.

[MUSIC]

Because when you saw that total

solar eclipse from Artemis two,

it was so spectacular and

nobody was ready for it. Even

people who see total solar

eclipses all the time. And so

when you saw that, it just

brought the beauty of space and

the beauty of the science we do

into such clarity.

>> I think NASA's one of the

only places where we can see a

solar eclipse from down here on

earth. And then from the other

side of the moon.

>> We study the sun all the

time. It's one of our main

things that we study in NASA

science. We look at it in all

different wavelengths. We look

at it from all different

vantage points to be able to

predict when these really large

radiation storms are going to

come towards our planet,

because we want to make sure

our astronauts are safe. The

eclipse just gives us even more

opportunity to study that sun

just a little bit more, to

really make those big

breakthroughs, to keep our

astronauts safe.

>> All right. Next is for both

of you. If you could witness a

solar eclipse from anywhere on

earth, where would you choose?

>> Anywhere that doesn't have

clouds having been clouded out

for the last eclipse, I will

say I will go anywhere that

there's no clouds.

>> Look, Iceland is very cool

in Spain. A lot of the

observation locations for this

one. But in Egypt, in the

Valley of the Kings, is going

to be an amazing backdrop.

>> And that is going to be the

longest total solar eclipse of

the 21st century. It is over

six minutes to stand in

somewhere ancient is

particularly moving.

>> What's the one thing you

want people to walk away

understanding about why

studying eclipses matters?

>> I think these kind of

magical events, I would very

much describe that eclipse as a

is a magical event. Maybe it

creates a spark and who knows

how many people around the

world look up, imagine what's

possible, and then grow up and

start contributing in this

great adventure that we're on.

>> Remember that Einstein

confirmed his theory of

relativity using an eclipse.

Eclipses are very powerful. You

see stars, you see

constellations, you see planets

that you don't normally see. It

kind of reminds you of our

place in the universe.

>> Why do we still care so much

about the sun? What? Is there

anything new we can learn about

it?

>> There's always new stuff to

learn about the sun. It is our

star, but it's the only star we

know right now that has the

responsibility for maintaining

life on a planet. And as we

sort of continue to try and

answer the question of are we

alone in the universe?

[MUSIC]

Understanding our relationship

with our sun is so important,

and eclipses give us that

opportunity to do that. It is

honestly the only time that we

can really observe some of the

phenomena, particularly down

low in the chromosphere, really

looking at how the corona turns

into the solar wind, it bathes

all of the planets, but we live

in the atmosphere of the sun.

So when you get these big

events, they can cause havoc

for technology here. And of

course, our prime thing,

keeping our astronauts safe in

space. So understanding our sun

is is more critical today than

ever.

>> Thank you both so much for

being here today. Really

appreciate it.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you to our NASA

administrator, Jared Isaacman

and head of NASA science, Nikki

Fox. Let's head back to earth

right now, who is going to dive

into our eclipse maps and where

the eclipse is heading next?

>> Thanks, Joy. It's so

exciting for me to watch this

eclipse progress. I mean, we

can predict these, but you

really can't anticipate how you

feel about them until you see

them. So I'm standing in front

of the eclipse map. And just to

recap, this red stripe is the

path of totality. Those are all

the locations that can

experience totality. You're

seeing the partial shadow

emerge from northern Siberia.

It has already crossed Alaska.

It's over Canada and the

northern United States right

now. And that little oval is

the umbra where totality is

actually taking place. It has

just passed by Iceland. And

although it was cloudy there,

people got to experience the

secondary effects of eclipse,

where you get the darkening and

the the brightness along the

horizon. And it will very soon

be over northern Spain, where

we expect more than 15 million

people will be watching the

eclipse toward the end of it.

Partial eclipse in Western

Africa. So this is a close up

view. Reykjavik is here. They

unfortunately had clouds, but

the WB 57 was flying just above

that. And they were there

because that's kind of the spot

that if you're on the center

line, you get the longest

eclipse of two minutes, 18

seconds today. And we're just a

few minutes away from seeing

totality pass over Spain less

than an hour before sunset.

That should produce some really

beautiful photographs,

especially for folks on the

beach watching this over the

mountains to the west. This is

an unusual eclipse. It's kind

of weird, and one reason for

that is where the total eclipse

starts. This is the Taymyr

Peninsula in northern Siberia.

And because they're so far

north that eclipse starts at

midnight, they are well above

the Arctic Circle. So the sun

is up 24 hours a day. And then

the other kind of odd thing

about it is this north south

path most eclipse paths, most

totality paths are west to east.

But this one, because it's so

close to the pole and because

the orientation of the earth

and the fact that it's a

descending node eclipse, it's

starting in the north and going

to the south, and suddenly

making this left turn into

Spain. So we're looking forward

to seeing that total eclipse in

Spain where the weather looks

great. Back to you, Joy.

>> Thank you so much, Annie. So

we're about 15 minutes away

from totality in Spain. The

view we're seeing here is from

Leon, Spain. And I want to say

thank you again to our partners

time and date, Southern

Illinois University and

Exploratorium for providing

these stunning telescope views

of the solar eclipse. This is

really, really exciting. They

have 15 minutes left until the

sun is completely obscured.

Luckily, earth is not the only

place you can experience a

total solar eclipse. Our

astronauts on the International

Space Station have witnessed

several solar eclipses from

this very unique vantage point.

So let's learn more from my

colleague Abby Interrante, who

caught up with the astronauts

on the space station a few days

ago.

>> Hi Jessica and Anil, it is

so great to talk with you from

the International Space Station.

You see earth and the solar

system from a unique

perspective every single day.

Thank you so much for joining

this long distance call to talk

about this moment.

>> We're so happy to share this

with you.

>> We study the sun and its

influence on earth and

throughout the solar system

through a field called

heliophysics. What is the

benefit of studying the sign

from up there in low earth

orbit?

>> One of the big things is

that there is a lot of

particles that are around earth,

and those particles can be

affected by coronal mass

ejections, and those ejections

can energize the particles and

affect things that are in space.

And the things that we care

about are in space are

satellites. Those satellites

give us communication, they

give us internet. And so

there's even a future where we

have data centers in space, and

we're using the sun's energy to

power things like artificial

intelligence and things like

that. And so we need to

understand how that's going to

be affected by the sun.

>> If you could pick anyone,

who would you want to watch an

eclipse with? And would you

rather watch it from earth or

from space?

>> This one for me, just

reminds me of one of my mentors

from graduate school, Jerry

Coleman, and he and his wife.

They are eclipse chasers, so I

think if I could share it with

one very special person,

somebody that played such a

role in inspiring me and

helping fuel my scientific

curiosity and helping me be a

successful scientist, it would

be to watch that with Jerry,

and it would be to watch it

from up here, because I know he

has never seen one from the

International Space Station.

>> I was going to say something

similar. I would love to watch

it with my kids because it was

such a unique experience for me

when it happened. The animals,

the birds got quiet, it got

dark, it almost felt cooler and

I think they would really love

it.

>> And I know you just arrived.

Is there anything that you've

seen out of the cupola or the

wharf that surprised you since

you've arrived?

>> Here is the most surprising

thing on the launch. You have a

chance to look out of the

window of the spacecraft as

it's docking with space station.

And when I looked out the right

window, I saw this bright

shining thing, the the

International Space Station. I

knew it should be there in

space. And we were tracking it,

and a lot of people did all the

math and engineering to get us

there. But it just was

something that was just hard to

comprehend at the same time.

And utterly beautiful. It's

this merger between art and

science.

>> The best part about that

moment was we were all inside

the space station very

anxiously awaiting a nil and

Pyotr and Anna's arrival, and

we could hear the

communications coming from the

Soyuz. The Soyuz was, of course,

talking to the ground. All of a

sudden we heard a voice and he

said, I see it. I see the space

station. It just made everybody

smile and made everybody so

happy because we we remembered

that moment for ourselves. When

you see it for the first time

and it doesn't even look real,

it looks like a little computer

animation or something. And

it's so small. And then it just

gets bigger and bigger and

bigger, and then suddenly it

becomes your new home.

>> Thank you so much. It has

just been a pleasure to speak

with you both. We really

appreciate you taking the time.

>> Thank you. Abby. It's been

wonderful speaking with

everyone today. So keep looking

up and we'll be waving at you.

>> So at last report from

Mission Control, Jessica and

Neil and the rest of the crew

had their eclipse glasses on

standby, just in case the space

station path brought them any

unexpected views. So we'll keep

an eye out and see what they if

they saw anything. But we did

just get something new. Come in.

So a short while ago in Hodgdon,

Maine, in the US, one of our

NASA photographers actually

caught the International Space

Station flying across the sun

during the partial eclipse.

Let's take an exclusive look at

that image. Wow, that is an

incredible shot. So this was

taken by Joel Kowsky with NASA

headquarters. So in the middle

you can see a tiny little speck.

And that's the space station

that flew right in front of the

partial eclipse at 1:14 p.m.

eastern time. You can see it

along the middle here, and

there are some cloud coverage.

You can see the clouds kind of

going in front as well. But

this is a really, really

beautiful shot. The space

station was traveling at about

five miles per second here. So

our NASA photographer, Joel,

would have had about half a

second to capture this exact

moment. In Joel's photographs,

you can also see the slither of

the moon at the top corner as

well. And the moon was covering

roughly 20% of the sun.

Although Joel is a very

experienced photographer,

anyone can take photographs of

a solar eclipse. So next, let's

hear a few tips on how to

photograph one.

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Sometime after the show, NASA

will also be releasing

exclusive eclipse images from

Spain as well. This is where

our NASA photographer, Bill

Ingalls is hoping to capture

the eclipse near the horizon.

We're about seven minutes away

from totality in Leon, Spain,

which is so, so exciting. This

is some of the crowds there

that we're seeing. You can see

that there the the darkness is

looming. It's not quite

totality there yet, but they

are almost there, which is

awesome. So now I'm going to

I'm joined here by NASA's

Heliophysics Director, Joe

Weslake. Joe, how are you

feeling about today's eclipse?

>> Oh, super excited, super

excited to see it and to share

our science, NASA science

across the world.

>> So if you're watching from

the ground and you don't have

eclipse glasses, there are

actually many ways to watch an

eclipse. These are through

indirect viewing methods. So

Joe, do you want to walk

through some of those methods

with us?

>> Yeah. So these are super

cool. This is stuff that you've

got at home and things that you

can use to help you view an

eclipse safely without your

glasses. So here we have just a

standard colander, right? What

you would have in your kitchen,

maybe clean some, you know,

berries or whatnot with it. And

I'm going to demonstrate how

you would use this to look at,

look directly at an eclipse,

okay. You know, you're using

the light of the sun as it

would filter through this

colander. And let's demonstrate

together here. Okay? So yeah,

if you could hold that.

>> So do you need a piece of

paper?

>> You don't need a piece of

paper. You can just have it on

the ground. Something,

something light that you could

see. Okay, I've got a

flashlight that's sort of

demonstrating what an eclipse

would look like. It's got a

little piece of foam there

that'll show. So let's shine

our light, let's do our sun and

then show it as it would hit

the this calendar. And what you

can see there is these nice

little crescent moon shapes

which are showing the eclipse

on our on our example paper

here. So that that would

usually be a bunch of circles.

Like if you took this out

during regular daylight here in

the US, you would see just a

little sliver gone over. In

Spain, of course, they would

see these beautiful little

crescent moon shapes.

>> So you don't want to be

looking through the colander,

but you want the sun to be

shining through it.

>> Absolutely. Okay. Right. You

want to use this as your light

filter for you. And the cool

thing is, is you can use this,

but you don't have to use this.

There's lots of other

possibilities. So you can

actually take your hands, right?

Like this. Okay, spread your

fingers out, hold them over top

of each other, and you make

little pinholes yourself when

you do that, okay? And when you

do that, you can actually see

through and be able to see the

eclipse in the same way. Right?

So that's a cool way to do it.

And then on top of that, let's

say you're taking a walk in the

woods. Well, the leaves of the

trees actually make these kind

of pinholes all over for you as

well. When they do that, you

get this beautiful, you know,

constant crescent moons and

everything everywhere. One of

my favorite ways to see an

eclipse.

>> Thank you so much, Joe. And

so today's eclipse, August 12th

also lands on another special

day. So on this day in 2018,

NASA's Parker Solar Probe

launched into space to study

the sun's corona up close. Joe,

can you tell us a little bit

about that mission?

>> Yeah, what an incredible

mission. This is humanity's

opportunity to actually touch

our star, right? We flew a

mission. Parker Solar Probe.

It's still up there. It's still

operating. It's still taking

great science, but it's flying

within the corona, within what

you see in the total solar

eclipse and taking direct

measurements of that corona to

help us understand how our sun

works.

>> Amazing. So we have a lot of

questions coming in from social

media, and we have time for

just one Joe. So let's dig in.

Kyle asks. It seems to be that

there are a lot more solar

eclipses happening in the past

few years. Did something change?

>> You know, nothing changed.

The geometry of the sun, the

moon, the earth is the same.

But one of the cool things

about our technological society

today is you get to see many

more of these things, whether

it be because of social media,

because of, you know, people

have access to cell phones or

just the accessibility of

travel and being able to go to

these different places. I'm

personally really glad that

people are hearing more and

more about eclipses, because it

brings the greatness of NASA

science home to all of you.

>> Thank you so much joy for

doing this demonstration and

for being with us here today.

>> Thank you so much, joy.

>> So now let's head back to

the eclipse map, where we're

going to see the eclipse in

real time. So as you can see in

the bottom part of this video,

the moon's shadow is just about

to reach Spain. We're about

three minutes out from totality

hitting Spain. Leon. Spain is

going to be experiencing

totality, and it will be

getting about one minute and

about 44 seconds of totality,

which is so, so exciting. The

path is going to be hitting

several other towns as well,

such as Majorca and Villa

Lobato. And the view that we're

seeing right now is of Leon,

Spain. And even though totality

hasn't occurred yet, you can

see a tiny little filament or

prominence, sorry, on the one

side. Okay. So remember to be

safe when watching a solar

eclipse, you have to be wearing

safe solar viewing glasses or

use an indirect viewing method

when viewing the when when the

moon hasn't completely covered

the sun yet, you can only look

at a total solar eclipse during

totality when the moon is

completely blocking the sun. So

back in the studio we have

Kelly with us again. Kelly,

what is it that makes this

eclipse in Europe so, so

special?

>> It really is so special

because again, this is almost

at sunset. So we're

experiencing something that's a

little bit different, having it

so low in the horizon. And look

at those images there. You're

seeing that darkness already

coming in, those kind of sepia

tones instead of the the normal

bright light or even the normal

types of sunsets.

>> Wow. So we are two minutes

away from totality in Spain.

You can see the crowds in the

bottom corner there. And this

is the sun's view. Oh my

goodness. So two minutes until

totality and we have a sliver

of the sun left. This is just

amazing.

>> Yes. It's so beautiful. And

like you were saying, there is

that prominence there that we

already see. So these are

things that are very

interesting and again, can

erupt in the space weather that

we were talking about earlier.

So this is a great view. And

even with this, you know, it's

not complete darkness. That

little bit of sun still lights,

lights it up so that we can see

the crowd.

>> Wow. So we're about a minute

and a half away. What should

people expect to see moments

before totality hits?

>> So what they should see is

what we call the diamond ring

effects or the baily's beads.

So these will be really bright

lights. And it's from the last

bits of sunset sun coming

through the moon's valleys. So

that will come through and

we'll see that. And you still

need your eclipse glasses or an

indirect viewing method at that

point in time. But then once

that's done and you're in the

path of totality, it's time to

remove those glasses and see

the corona with your own eyes.

>> Wow. And if you're on the

ground, what other sensations

will you be feeling?

>> It will definitely be

getting colder. There might be

a wind. You can again change in

animal behavior. Any wildlife

that's around you, and really

the sense of awe, as well as

the 360 degree sunset all

around the horizon. So just a

few things to look for.

>> Wow, this is a stunning,

stunning view. We have just a

sliver left and this is the

moon covering the sun's disk.

And when totality occurs, that

sliver will disappear. We're

about 30s away now from

totality in Spain, if you're on

the ground and you have clear

skies, we are so, so happy for

you. Yes, definitely.

>> Oh, wow. It's just beautiful.

And again, probably feeling so

much excitement and sometimes

you even feel a little fear,

like I think was mentioned

earlier. They felt it was eerie,

almost. It's an eerie light.

It's not something that we're

used to in a human experience.

But here it goes. It's, it's

we're getting close to those

baily's beads and the diamond

ring effect. So those should be

coming very shortly.

>> Wow. All right. Totality is

almost there. The sliver is

about to disappear. Okay.

>> The little diamond ring.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah.

>> All right. Totality has hit

Spain. Oh my goodness. Lovely

view. What is what is the red

mark that we're seeing on the

image right now of the sun.

>> So the red mark is that

filament. So it's a bunch of

very hot material that has been

hanging above the sun and just

kind of hanging out there based

on the magnetic fields of the

sun, that that keeps it kind of

in a little magnetic cage. Oh,

look at that. That's a really

nice view of the corona. You're

seeing things that look like

streaks coming out of this. And

those are streamers. So that's

the basis of the solar wind

that we are bathed in

constantly. The sun is

constantly outflowing material.

And so those are that's the

constant stream. And then you

see the what could become a big

chunk at some point in time in

the pink filaments that you see

there.

>> Wow. So we see that coming

off of the sun. So this is the

atmosphere of the sun. The

sun's corona are those streaks

that you just mentioned. Are

they coming towards earth as

well?

>> They are coming towards

earth. So they, they fill the

entire solar system or the

heliosphere, which is actually

all the sun encompasses with

that solar wind. So it's the

entire solar system. So it

definitely hits us here on

earth. And this is absolutely

beautiful. Again, you're seeing

a prominence also on both sides

really, and maybe even one up

on the other corner. Yeah. So

there's lots of even though the

sun is supposed to be towards a

minimum of activity, which

meaning you should see less of

this, we're seeing more of it.

And this is one of the

important reasons why to keep

studying these eclipses is to

see what is actually happening

on our sun. When we think, when

we think we know what's going

on, it seems to change it up a

little.

>> And what is it about these

features that are so important

to study?

>> It's important to study what

they're made out of. Oh, and

now we're back to the diamond

ring. So we're we're coming

back out of it already. It was

always, oh, yes, it's already

it happens so quickly. And once

you see one, you. You

definitely want to go back and

see some more.

>> So totality has ended. Yes.

In Villa Lobato, Spain. Wow. So

you're telling me that we also

see the diamond ring and

baily's beads at the end of the

eclipse as well?

>> Yes, exactly. Where you're

going into or out of? Out of

the eclipses.

>> Okay, so this is a view from

Valencia in Spain as well. They

are seeing an eclipse right now.

Eclipse is happening in Spain

about a minute, a minute apart

from one another in these

telescope views. So they're

seeing totality, are they? So

the red mark that we're seeing

right now is that another

prominence?

>> Yes. Those are prominences.

That material that is that is

suspended above the sun. That's

very, very hot. Again, it's

interesting. It's interesting

to us to know what they're made

out of. There's normally

filters like here and on the

airplanes as well to tell us

about whether that's some iron

or whether that's carbon or

oxygen or what exactly is those

pink, those pink filaments.

>> Made of?

>> Wow. And you can see the

moon is moving away from the

sun right now. What is it that

we're watching?

>> Yeah, this is beads. And so

these are the beads. And so now

we're, we're actually going out

of totality again.

>> So wow, what a brief moment

of totality. This is just

amazing. They have had clear

skies and this is exactly what

you want for a total solar

eclipse. Wow. This is Mallorca

in Spain. Oh my goodness. This

is stunning.

>> Wow.

>> Yeah. Look at that Corona

that why why is it so much

clearer? Why is it Corona so

much clearer during a total

eclipse?

>> Yes. Yeah. So it's so much

clearer because you're, you're

taking away all the bright

light from the face of the sun.

The sun is very, very bright.

So it's basically a million

times different. And when you

blot out that middle, you can

see all the beautiful things

that are going on behind it.

And so yeah, so this is the

beautiful crescent moon that

you're seeing. I think

previously we were seeing those,

those streaks of light that's

also closer to sunset there as

you go more south in Spain and

already the lights returning

and they seem to be very

excited in the crowd there.

It's such a great feeling to

experience those eclipses, even

though they were so short.

>> Wow. And experiencing a

total solar eclipse that is

completely different to a

partial eclipse.

>> It really is. And it took me

even as a whole heliophysicist.

It took me a while for them to

convince me that I should do it.

And once I saw my first in 2017,

I've seen multiple since.

Because it is a full body

experience, it is very

different than seeing just one

bite out of the moon. The. The

whole body experience and just

the joy and awe and kind of

your place in the world is so

important to experience.

>> Absolutely.

[LAUGHTER]

I'm for sure. Now an eclipse

chaser. Well, that was an

incredible solar eclipse. What

a view. I am thrilled that

their skies were completely

clear, which means that we

could see the sun's corona so,

so clearly, and we could even

see multiple prominences as

well from the sun, which is

beautiful sight during an

eclipse. So in a few minutes,

we're going to be speaking with

a NASA astronaut live from

where they saw a total eclipse.

But first, let's go back to the

poll that we posed to you

earlier on in the show. So,

Kelly, I know that you had

answered some of these

questions as well. So let's

take a look at what our viewers

thought about those questions.

Okay, so let's head to one of

the poll questions. But while

we're kind of like waiting to

get that set up, let's continue

looking at this beautiful

partial eclipse now in Mallorca,

Spain.

>> That's just gorgeous. That

is just absolutely gorgeous in

terms of that, that very little

sliver. Again, this is towards

sunset. So normally if you're

looking at a sunset, especially

over water, you're seeing that

kind of orange ball, red ball

go down. And then you have this

beautiful eclipse to happen.

These really are just going to

be spectacular images.

>> Yes, absolutely. Okay. So

let's head back to the poll

answers our viewers. So the

first question was where would

you rather watch an eclipse

from? You said the

International Space Station.

And our viewers would agree,

yes.

>> It'll be a party in the

International Space Station.

>> I also wanted to be there

too. So we're all going to be

up there. The second question

on the poll for everyone

watching was what would be your

ideal eclipse watching

soundtrack? And the options

were cosmic Lo-Fi beats,

dramatic space, opera music,

chill acoustic skywatching

vibes, or just the sounds of

nature and the crowd. And the

winner was cosmic Lo-Fi beats.

>> Oh. All right. Yeah, that's

a that's a good, good

soundtrack. I could see that.

>> Yeah, yeah. I voted for

opera music, but.

>> Yeah, and it might be a

little bit more sounds of

nature, but you know, that's

just me.

>> Okay. Well, anyway, thank

you so much. So although

totality is over, the partial

eclipse will still be visible

for the next hour or so.

Remember to stay safe while

watching the rest of the

partial eclipse by wearing

eclipse glasses, or by using an

indirect viewing method. So if

you want to learn more about

eclipse safety, go to

science.nasa.gov/eclipses. Okay,

so next we have a very special

guest calling into the show

live. NASA astronaut Don Pettit

just witnessed the total solar

eclipse from Alicante, Spain.

Don, can you hear me? How are

you doing?

>> I can hear you loud and

clear. And I'm standing out in

Alcaniz, Spain, just in awe

from looking at the totality

phase of this eclipse.

>> Wow. So how are you feeling?

I know you just finished

watching the eclipse. How are

you feeling right now? What did

you experience on the ground

and what did you hear? Were you

surrounded by crowds at all?

>> There? The sky is

exceptionally clear and there's

hundreds of people here, and

that's part of the eclipse.

It's not being off by yourself.

It's being with a group of

people. The the people that

live in Alcaniz, the group of

people that I'm here with and

experiencing this amazing

celestial event all together.

>> Amazing. So people might

know you for your incredible

photos and videos from your

multiple trips to the

International Space Station.

Did you take any photos during

this eclipse or did you put

your camera down for this one?

>> Oh no. What? What I do is

the same thing for launches.

You set a camera up on

automatic and you get whatever

you get from the camera, and

then you stand back and you

watch the launch or you watch

the total eclipse. They're both

kind of in the same category

and that they they only last a

couple minutes in terms of what

you could see. And it's better

to view them through your own

two eyes than through the

viewfinder on a camera.

>> Okay, good tip from NASA

astronaut. So how did the

experience watching this from

the ground compare to watching

an eclipse from space, which I

know you've done a few times?

>> I've had the opportunity to

see two solar eclipses from

space and in space. You look at

the shadow projected on earth.

You don't look at the sun

itself, and the shadow has all

the detail that the classic

astronomers from hundreds of

years ago predicted. You see

the umbra, you see the penumbra,

you see the shadow moving over

earth. And it's a vantage point

from space that you can't see

from earth.

>> Wow. So, so lucky. And I

know you've seen a lot of other

beautiful phenomena in space,

like the aurora and airglow.

What is it that makes watching

a total eclipse special for you?

>> It's it's the the whole

package that comes with a total

eclipse. It's the shadow

phenomena that happens around

you. It's looking at the corona

around the sun. It's

experiencing the reaction of

all the people you're watching

it with. So it's, it's a, it's

a human emotional event as well

as as much physics and, and

natural phenomena as you want

to add to the mix.

>> Wow. Well, thank you so much,

John. Any parting words?

>> Just get out and watch an

eclipse, whether it's a total

eclipse or a partial eclipse,

they happen. Lunar eclipses

happen. Get out and look up at

the sky and think about what's

going on and smile.

>> Thank you so much for

joining us live from Spain.

We're so grateful you could

share your absolutely amazing

solar eclipse experience with

us.

>> You. You all take care.

>> Wow, Kelly, it's amazing to

hear someone as passionate and

knowledgeable as Don.

>> Yes, it really is that he's

seen so much and he still is so

passionate about the eclipse

here on earth. It just really

tells you you have to see this

thing.

>> Absolutely. So if you're

looking to catch the next total

eclipse, you're in luck because

we have a few special ones

coming up. Kelly, can you run

through them with us?

>> Yes. So next year there is

going to be an eclipse that

happens in part of Spain,

throughout the northern Africa

through the Middle East. And

that's going to be the eclipse

of the century, the longest one

of the century. So at six

minutes and 28 seconds, that's

going to be a very long one.

And then in 28, we're going to

have the eclipse over Australia

and New Zealand. So these are

going to be great scientific

experiments, as well as amazing

experiences to experience on

the ground.

>> Amazing. And what about the

United States?

>> The United States? Well, the

next one where we'll have

totality is 2044 in Montana and

North Dakota, and then 2045. So

it's going to be a while before

we go California, through

Florida, across across the

entire continent.

>> Amazing. So if you want to

learn more about solar eclipses

and NASA science, you can head

to science.nasa.gov. Eclipses.

So Kelly, thank you so much for

joining us in the studio today

and answering all of our

questions from our viewers. I

also want to thank our guests

who joined us in the studio and

on the ground as well, and

especially to our telescope

partners and everyone who

looked up with us here today.

And so I think we may have some

eclipse pictures from the

International Space Station.

We're going to see if we can

grab them now for you. If you

can't, we'll be releasing them

shortly after the eclipse.

We're going to be posting them

online soon after the eclipse.

But yes, we're happy that the

space station astronauts were

able to see the eclipse from

space. So we have something

else exciting happening in just

a few weeks. NASA's Kennedy

Space Center Launch Complex in

Florida will become the next

launch site for the Nancy Grace

Roman Space Telescope. This is

a one of a kind observatory

that will help answer essential

questions about dark energy,

exoplanets, and much more about

our solar system and out to the

observable universe. The launch

is currently no earlier than

Sunday, August 30th. We're so

excited for you to join us next

time as we follow another

historic mission in space

exploration.

>> Every discovery begins with

a new way of seeing.

[MUSIC]

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space

Telescope will reveal the

universe on an unprecedented

scale. With its powerful, wide

eyed view.

[MUSIC]

Roman will map vast regions of

the cosmos, seek the hidden

influence of dark matter, and

uncover the mysterious force

driving the universe's

expansion. With a wider view.

Comes a deeper understanding.