Montana Space Grant Consortium

Field research campaigns in 2019 and 2020 collected hourly atmospheric profiles via radiosonde surrounding the 2 July 2019 and 14 December 2020 total solar eclipses over South America from locations within the paths of eclipse totality. As part of these atmospheric data collection campaigns, the eclipse module of the 15 Advanced Research Weather Research & Forecast (WRF-ARW) model was utilized to model meteorological conditions before, during, and after the eclipse events. The surface and upper air observational datasets collected through these campaigns have enabled further assessment and validation of the WRF-ARW eclipse module's performance in simulating atmospheric responses to total solar eclipses. We provide here descriptions of the field campaigns for both 2019 and 2020 and present results from comparisons of meteorological variables both at the 20 surface and aloft using observational datasets obtained through the campaigns. The paper concludes by recommending further scientific analyses to be explored utilizing the unique datasets presented.

The aim of this project was to create a Pan/Tilt Ground Station that would provide a robust frame capable of accommodating the future needs of the BOREALIS program. This goal was accomplished through the incorporation of: stepper motors, increased rigidity, increased accuracy, increased torque, built in solar sight, 3600 rotation capability, and an ability to easily swap out components. The implementation of a gear system into the design increased both the torque from the motor and the overall resolution provided to the system. Robust metal fabrication and bearings provided a significant increase in rigidity as compared to the previous design. A permanently mounted solar sight reduced set-up time and eliminated possible human error involved in the set-up process. Stepper motors were chosen due to their high degree of accuracy when using a tic 36v4 motor driver. Through the use of stepper motor’s, motor drivers, and an 8:1 gear ratio, this ground station has a resolution of 0.001°. These drivers were run by an arduino through I2C sending position data to control the motors as well as running a GPS. This arduino was connected to a laptop and controlled by a C# program using sun tables and GPS coordinates to track the balloons position throughout the duration of the flight.

The yearly National Student Solar Spectrograph Competition (NSSSC) is Montana Space Grant Consortium's Education and Public Outreach (EP/O) Program for NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission. The NSSSC is designed to give schools with less aerospace activity such as Minority Serving Institutions and Community Colleges an opportunity for hands on real world research experience. The NSSSC provides students from across the country the opportunity to work as part of an undergraduate interdisciplinary team to design, build and test a ground based solar spectrograph. Over the course of nine months, teams come up with their own science goals and then build an instrument to collect data in support of their goals. Teams then travel to Bozeman, MT to demonstrate their instruments and present their results in a competitive science fair environment. This paper and poster will discuss the 2011-2012 competition along with results as well as provide information on the 2012 -2013 competition opportunities.