Eclipse 2024 – Part 1 Not even the clouds could pass up this momentous day, for this was were the bright and mighty sun was to be eclipsed by our closest celestial neighbor – our Moon. This event brought hundreds of excited and curious people to the El Paso Community College Solar Eclipse Extravaganza event so that they could safely witness this breathtaking moment, albeit only momentarily...
While doing a clouds protocol on the GLOBE Observer app, I notice something phenomenal in the sky. The first sun halo of 2024! These awesome atmospheric displays of light are caused by the sunlight striking the ice crystals in high level, cirrus-type clouds. These ice crystals act like prisms and refract the light to display a “rainbow ring” around the sun. Often these sun halos forecast a...
Since its inception, the GLOBE Observer (GO) app has community scientists to actively engage with NASA scientists by providing the opportunity to collect atmospheric, mosquito habitat, land cover and tree height data no matter where you are located in the world. This has opened the door for community science members to learn more about the environment and its impacts on their daily lives. What...
Many do not have the chance to witness a rare annular solar eclipse. So when the opportunity for one to crossover the El Paso borderland, people from Mexico and the United States converged at the El Paso Community College Transmountain campus to experience the unique annular solar eclipse of 2023. This unique eclipse occurs when the moon covers just enough of the sun outlining a “ring” of sun...
Recently NASA scientists studied dust storms and weather conditions in the Chihuahuan desert to better understand the impacts on climate and public health. Presentations at the Southern Arizona Dust Storm Workshop in 2020 and 2021 highlighted the importance of these events. Students at El Paso Community College (EPCC) helped contribute to this study by engaging students to take dust...
