WKU students develop an app for a NASA Science Project

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A grant from NASA is allowing faculty and students at Western Kentucky University to participate in a NASA science project, by developing, testing, and implementing a new app, Sunsketcher, that will collect images during the April 8th solar eclipse.

Professor of Physics and Astronomy at WKU, Gordon Emslie, says “lots and lots of aspects to this project, more than I anticipated when I started it in fact, to the point now that we have over a dozen people represented on the team, and they’re all equally important. Every single aspect of this is necessary.”

WKU students have been working on this project for over two years, in hopes of having millions of eclipse watchers use Sunsketcher during totality.

Junior Computer Science student at WKU, Andrea Florence, says “This is the last solar eclipse that the United States will see for 20 years. So, we’ll have another one in 20 years, but until then this is it. So, if you can get in totality, I highly recommend it. Evansville is in totality, Indianapolis, and Paducah, so if you can plot those points and follow that line, anywhere along that path, it would be absolutely amazing for you to see.”

Downloading the Sunsketcher app and using it during the solar eclipse will allow the technology to take pictures of the eclipse and then send them to a server on WKU’s campus. This data will be used to make the most precise calculation of the shape of the sun ever.

Emslie says, “This is your chance to make a unique contribution to a NASA science project, and you may have never thought in your entire life that you’d be able to do that but this is your big chance, so go enjoy and experience the eclipse.”

During the eclipse, you can expect the temperature to drop for a few minutes and the sky will project crescents of light on the ground. While it is an incredible experience, remember, it is never safe to look at the eclipse without solar filters.

“I cannot stress enough, do not burn your eyes over this. As soon as it is in totality, you can take them off for a minute or two and look around. The birds will stop singing, and animals think it’s night, they go to sleep. It was a really cool experience last time, but as soon as that totality ends, put those glasses right back on.”

Sunsketcher will launch at the end of March, and WKU students and faculty look forward to your support in using this app during the eclipse on April 8th. For more information on the app, you can visit the Sunsketcher website.