BALTIMORE, MD—Next month’s solar eclipse will be accompanied by three separate rocket launches by NASA.

On April 8, during the total solar eclipse, three sounding rockets will launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility as a part of the Apophis mission.

The three sounding rockets will launch for the Atmospheric Perturbations around the Eclipse Path (APEP) mission, which will study how the sudden drop in sunlight affects Earth’s upper atmosphere during the eclipse.

At the Wallops Visitor Center, the moon will block a maximum of 81.4% of the sun’s light during this phenomenon. One sounding rocket will launch for each segment of the Total Solar Eclipse beginning approximately at 2:40 p.m. EDT and ending approximately at 4:05 p.m. EDT, yielding about 45 minutes between each rocket.

Total Solar Eclipse Timeline:

• Start – 2:06 p.m. EDT
• Maximum – 3:22 p.m. EDT
• End – 4:34 p.m. EDT

So look to the skies on April 8, or watch live online below…coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Photo via Pixabay