Become a SunSketcher, Help Measure the Sun

HOUSTON, TX -  NASA wants to know, “What shape is the Sun?” and you can help.

According to NASA, the sun is not perfectly round.

“Knowing precisely how the Sun’s shape deviates from a sphere can teach us about its interior and test theories of gravity,” NASA states. 

By joining the SunSketcher project, NASA says that you can help measure the Sun’s shape.

During the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, NASA will need help from volunteers along the eclipse’s path of totality – the region from Texas to Maine where the Moon will completely block the Sun’s light – to help create a movie of the eclipse. 

Using the free SunSketcher smartphone app, volunteers will capture views of the eclipse and trace tiny slivers of sunlight that pass through the valleys on the surface of the Moon. 

Information states that the science team will combine their images with “precision maps of the Moon” collected by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to measure the Sun’s size and shape precisely.

Are you planning to watch the April 8 total eclipse? 

Check out the SunSketcher website for information about eclipses and the SunSketcher project. 

Register as a SunSketcher to receive regular updates on the progress of this citizen science experiment.