TEMPLE, Texas — Do you consider yourself a scientist? Have you ever dreamed of working alongside NASA? Well, during the total solar eclipse this April, you could get your chance.
The Eclipse Soundscapes Project, funded by NASA Science Activation, is studying how the April 8 total solar eclipse will affect life on Earth, and they are asking citizens to be a part of the experiment.
The Eclipse Soundscapes Project will collect "multi-sensory observations" and recorded sound data from the April 8 eclipse, in an effort to understand the impact of the eclipse on various ecosystems around the U.S.
Most notably, NASA says the experiment aims to study animal behavior during the eclipse, such as if the change in light and temperature the eclipse is expected to bring will disrupt circadian rhythms in animals or affect behaviors that typically only occur at night or during the day.
There are multiple ways for citizens to get involved in the project, from collecting or analyzing data to recording personal sensory observations to helping get the community involved.
Roles include:
- Apprentice
- Observer
- Data Collector
- Data Analyst
- Facilitator
For more information on each role, and how to get involved, visit eclipsesoundscapes.org.
The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is revisiting a previous study from 1935, where members of the public were also invited to help a team, led by William M. Wheeler, study the effects of the 1932 solar eclipse on animals and insect behavior.
According to Eclipse Soundscapes, the original study compiled observations from nearly 500 people, and noted changes in animal behavior and soundscapes during the eclipse. As technology has improved, more studies into eclipse soundscapes have been conducted with more modern recording equipment.
If you would like to get involved in the Eclipse Soundscapes Project, or just want to learn more about the study, you can visit this link.
The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a Citizen Science project led by NASA. Citizen Science projects are collaborations between scientists and members of the public, allowing volunteers, or "citizen scientists", to help make real scientific discoveries. According to NASA, over 410 citizen scientists have been named as co-authors on refereed scientific publications.
To see which citizen science projects you can get involved with, visit this link.
For more on the total solar eclipse, visit KCENTV.com/eclipse.
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