Oral Presentation Only

Observing the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse in the skies above Central Missouri, USA

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Abstract

We report the work and findings of Arkansas BalloonSAT in participating in the 2017 Eclipse Ballooning Project. Arkansas BalloonSAT was the site-team for Missouri and launched a high altitude balloon from Fulton High School in Fulton, MO an hour prior to totality. The eclipse balloon flight (ABS-50) marked the 50th mission of Arkansas BalloonSAT and the culmination of nearly 10 years of scientific research and science outreach (e.g., Kennon, et al. [1]). The ABS-50 balloon reached an apogee of 24 kilometers shortly after floating for one minute in the moon’s umbra. In addition to live-streaming video from one payload as part of the Eclipse Ballooning Project, our mission included carrying a scientific payload and educational outreach. This report will summarize those efforts and include an examination of balloon kinematics with the cooling effect of the moon’s umbra and aircraft-balloon interaction. We further discuss developments in the system to minimize payload size for future eclipse studies. Upon recovery, we note a considerable difference between actual and projected balloon paths that mark the influence of the Moon’s shadow on Earth’s atmosphere.

How to Cite:

Carroll, B., Kennon, J., Tribbett, P. & Roberts, E., (2017) “Observing the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse in the skies above Central Missouri, USA”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2017(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.3460