Mind-Bending View of a Solar Eclipse from the Stratosphere

By Nancy Atkinson - March 24, 2015 at 11:52 AM UTC | Solar Astronomy
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What does a solar eclipse look like from a fast-flying Falcon 7X jet at 14,000 meters (48,000 feet)? French journalist Guillaume Cannat described the Sun as looking black and "ruffled."

Cannat was part of a group accompanying professional and amateur astronomers on board three Dassault Falcon 7X executive jets that flew in the narrow zone where totality of the eclipse could be observed, from southern Greenland to the geographic North Pole. Traveling through the stratosphere provided the unique opportunity to watch the total eclipse without atmospheric turbulence -- which improved the view and the ride. And flying at speeds near Mach .9 also "lengthened" the view of the eclipse to over a minute.

Cannat described the view of totality:

"The crown was deployed around the black disc of the New Moon . It looks like a disheveled silver hair and matted by the solar wind. Far to the left, the planet Venus throws diamond chips, but the absorption of the window hides other celestial body that must always shine in the night daylight. Twilight slides around, bathing the distant clouds in a soft orange glow."

Here's a composite of several images of the eclipse that Cannat put together:

[caption id="attachment_119557" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

A montage of photos from the March 20, 2015 solar eclipse, captured at 14,000 meters from a jet. Credit and copyright: Guillaume Cannat.[/caption]

The flight was organized by French amateur astronomer Xavier Jubier who created the software

Solar Eclipse Maestro

. The jets were filled with observation equipment:

#Falcon7X 's advanced pressurization system gives #eclipse2015 chasers the feeling they're barely over the tree tops.. pic.twitter.com/DmfL2HZK4M — Dassault Falcon (@DassaultFalcon)

Cannat also filmed the eclipse in real time with a GoPro Hero 4. "The whole sequence is rendered in real time so you can relive all in live conditions," Cannat said. "Note, left, the presence of the bright spot of the planet Venus. The visible light rays around the sun before and after the totality phase are reflections on the window; there are also occasional reflections from inside the cabin. I left her to fully convey the mood of the scene. Naturally, I urge you to watch this video in HD 1080p to capture more detail and better see the spectacular growth of the shadow on cloud strata."

And here's a video of the adventure from Dassault Falcon:

Read Cannat's full account (in French) and see more images at two posts at Le Monde

here

and

here.

Our thanks to Guillaume Cannat for sharing his images with Universe Today.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com