Why These Passengers Are Flying up to 30 Hours to See Four Minutes of the Eclipse

Millions of eager stargazers are gearing up for the total solar eclipse that will be visible from Texas to Maine on April 8. But while most people are making plans to be on the ground for the spectacle, a smaller group of enthusiasts are hoping to find an even better view—from 30,000 feet in the air.

“Typically you’re on the ground looking up and hoping there won’t be any clouds,” says Do Trinh, an IT risk consultant in Amsterdam. “Wouldn’t it be cool to experience the eclipse from the sky?”
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Trinh is part of a growing cohort of eclipse buffs who are opting to board commercial flights along the eclipse’s path, just to catch a brief glimpse of the moon obscuring the sun. His fascination with the idea was sparked by a captivating photo of the 2017 eclipse taken from an airplane, motivating him to want to witness the phenomenon from the same vantage point.

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After scanning airline schedules and checking the angle of the sun, Trinh in early January decided to book a flight from Amsterdam to the U.S. and drop another $500 on a Delta Air Lines flight from San Antonio to Detroit, securing a window seat on the left side of the plane four months in advance. “I’ll be flying 30 hours for four and a half minutes of totality,” Trinh says with a chuckle, “so it’s a big investment.”

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Source: TIME: Science - April 2, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Nik Popli Tags: Uncategorized Eclipse feature News Desk Solar Eclipse 2024 Source Type: news