There’s a new article out from Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC) about the research done over the April 8th, 2024, total solar eclipse. The research paper was published in Frontiers in Environmental Science under the section Atmosphere and Climate and it is titled “Atmospheric and meteorological responses during the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse: advancing workforce development through experiential learning” (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1751718). The article’s authors are Debanjana Das, Ricardo Sakai, Adrian Flores, Nakul N. Karle, Zhifeng Yang, Ujjawal Shah, Rocio D. Rossi, Ivan Sloan and Sen Chiao from Howard University, and Belay B. Demoz from University of Maryland Baltimore County. The authors collected observations over HUBC, where ground-based and upper-air measurements captured pre-, during-, and post-eclipse conditions under mostly clear skies to examine short-term atmospheric responses to an abrupt reduction in solar radiation. This effort also served as a powerful STEM education opportunity, engaging students in hands-on fieldwork and data collection, thereby highlighting the value of eclipse events as natural laboratories for both scientific investigation and public engagement.

Waiting for the total solar eclipse so to launch the first of many weather balloons

The researches and students involved during the study launching a radiosonde

The last sonde launch after an incredible solar eclipse