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Students, researchers to visit S. Illinois for solar eclipse

Hiroki ONO
/
Flickr/Creative Commons

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Students and researchers from Louisiana State University will travel to Southern Illinois University Carbondale for next year's total solar eclipse.
The team, which includes people from two other Louisiana institutions, plans to launch two large weather balloons from Saluki Stadium. 

 
The launch will occur about 90 minutes before the total eclipse, set for 1:21 p.m. on Aug. 21. 
 
A balloon equipped with a video camera will send real-time images as the moon blots out the sun. That feed will be provided to a NASA television program, which will broadcast from SIU.

The eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse over the mainland U.S. since 1979, and Southern Illinois will be the site of its longest duration.

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