More than 1,000 weather balloons will float high up into the atmosphere this Saturday as an annular solar eclipse moves across the United States.

This includes balloons launched by students at the University at Albany.

A team of six students in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (DAES) at UAlbany are among the 53 teams from 75 institutions selected to participate in the 2023-24 Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, co-sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project will take advantage of the Oct. 14 annular eclipse by launching weather balloons to collect and analyze data essentially trying to find out what happens to the atmosphere leading up to, during, and after the eclipse.

UAlbany’s team, named the “Turbulent Eddies,” is launching from New Mexico starting on Friday night, will continue to do so through the end of the eclipse event.

A total solar eclipse will cross North America next April, passing over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. During a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the sun’s light and darkening the sky.

The last time it took place over the U.S. was in August 2017, when people were able to see the event across the entire continent for the first time in nearly 100 years.