NASA-backed sunsketcher app lets you photograph the april 8th total solar eclipse

Capture the Total Solar Eclipse with SunSketcher App

Attention all sun enthusiasts! Have you ever dreamed of becoming a heliophysicist? Well, now’s your chance. With just your phone camera, you can join the mission to map the size and shape of the sun by capturing the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. Thanks to the new SunSketcher app developed by scientists at Western Kentucky University, it’s now easier than ever to photograph the eclipse and contribute to valuable research on the sun’s structure. Best of all, this project is officially supported by NASA, so you know it’s the real deal.

a view of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon | image courtesy of NASA/Gopalswamy

Join NASA’s Eclipse Documentation Effort with SunSketcher

As NASA (find more here) explains, the April 8, 2024, eclipse marks a rare event as it will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044. Starting from the Pacific shore of Sinaloa, Mexico, it will traverse through several US states before reaching the Atlantic Ocean east of Newfoundland, Canada. SunSketcher (find more here) urges residents along this path to contribute to eclipse documentation using their smartphones. Once activated, the app automatically captures moments when the sun and moon overlap, so users don’t need to worry about timing. Scheduled to coincide with the occurrence of Baily’s Beads – a mesmerizing phenomenon where light from the sun’s edges peeks through during the onset and conclusion of a total eclipse – the app ensures precise image capture. By timing these flashes at different locations, users aid scientists in accurately ‘sketching’ the sun’s shape.

Participating is easy: download the SunSketcher app, open it at least five minutes before the eclipse, and start the sequence. Prop your phone securely with the camera facing the sun, then sit back and enjoy the eclipse. The images will upload automatically to the app’s server, contributing to the study of the sun’s size and shape.

photo by Karl Magnuson via Unsplash