Watch: Olin Team to Measure Upcoming Solar Eclipse with High-Altitude Balloons

A team of Olin College researchers are traveling to Junction, Texas on Monday to measure the solar eclipse with their high-altitude balloons.

On Monday, April 8, as North America witnesses its second total solar eclipse in seven years, a group of Oliners will be examining it from 90,000 feet using high-altitude balloons, video cameras, flight computers and electronic hardware they assembled and will launch as part of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP), funded by NASA.

Led by Christopher Lee, associate dean and professor of mechanical engineering, the Olin students launched their first NEBP balloons for last fall’s Annular eclipse on Oct. 14. The students from mechanical, electrical and computer engineering majors will gather once again in Junction, Texas, for Monday’s eclipse. 

The goal is to launch the balloons 90,000 ft up so they can video stream the eclipse + collect atmospheric data. The atmospheric data reveal gravity waves, weather patterns, and planetary boundary layer changes during the eclipse.

We will be covering the group's activity, posting videos and photos from Texas in real-time to our Instagram + Facebook accounts.

You can also watch the team's Live Eclipse HAB Cam on YouTube