Dear Texas Rural Education Association,

The SMART (Surface Magnetic Assessment in Real-Time) Project at UCLA is inviting rural schools to participate in our research project of Earth’s magnetic fields and space weather using ground-based magnetometers. We are looking to partner with high schools across the country to collect data on the upcoming solar eclipse.

We are hoping that your organization could help to put us in contact with schools in the Texas Rural Education Association so we could invite them to join our network if they are interested.

SMART is a National Science Foundation-sponsored science and engineering project under UCLA researcher Dr. Peter Chi that builds and operates a network of ground-based magnetometers in the United States for space weather observations. The project is composed of groups in hardware, software, observatory operation, space weather science, big data, and education, continuing the heritage of UCLA as a national leader in related areas.

With the upcoming solar eclipse, we would like to set up our 3-day magnetometer devices to collect magnetic field data and learn more about space weather and how it affects Earth.

If we partner with a school, the school will set up and operate the device over the course of three days to ensure proper data collection during the solar eclipse event. Our team will send a kit and operating instructions, as well as aid in troubleshooting or provide any other assistance the school may need.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call (916) 717-9723.

Thank you,

Jonathan

UCLA SMART Research