Engineering Physics DURING ‘RING OF FIRE’ SOLAR ECLIPSE, EMBRY‑RIDDLE’S DR. AROH BARJATYA LED A NASA ROCKET MISSION.
When the Moon partially blocked the Sun, creating a spectacular “ring of fire,” or annular solar eclipse, on Oct. 14, 2023, Dr. Aroh Barjatya blasted three scientific rockets into space.
Barjatya, professor of Engineering Physics and director of the Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Lab (SAIL), designed the multi- institution NASA rocket mission to learn more about changes in the Earth’s upper atmosphere that can affect communication in the air and on the ground. From New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, Barjatya’s team launched three data-gathering or “sounding” rockets in rapid succession—before, during and after the eclipse. Each solid, two-stage rocket, spanning about 53 feet from tail to tip, zoomed over Route 70 and soared up to 350 kilometers into the ionosphere. Each rocket’s main payload also dispatched four sub-payloads of highly sensitive scientific instruments into space. Understanding how an eclipse sets off a unique pattern of atmospheric waves in the ionosphere is a key goal for Barjatya and colleagues. The Embry‑Riddle team includes Professor of Engineering Physics Dr. Matthew Zettergren; research scientists Dr. Robert Clayton and Dr. Shantanab Debchoudhury; Ph.D. students Rachel Conway, Henry Valentine and Nathan Graves; master’s degree students Peter Ribbens, Joshua Milford and Jonas Rowan; and undergraduate students Megan Soll, Johnathan Bizzano and Maddox Morrison. When the sun slips below the horizon or an eclipse pushes shadowy ribbons across the Earth, highly charged ions and electrons rapidly recombine in the ionosphere—an atmospheric layer located 37- 190 miles above the Earth that serves as a conduit for communication signals. Every day, the setting sun triggers changes to the ionosphere’s temperature, density and chemical composition. The ionosphere’s total electron content changes. Like a tide, the density of plasma drops as the sun sets and increases as the sun rises.
DR. Aroh Barjatya
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online