Today , masses across North America will witness a total solar eclipse . It should be striking ( assuming the weather condition holds ) , cooccur as it does with thesolar maximum .

As pleasurable as it will be , most witnesses will only get around3.5 - 4 minutesof sum , when the Moon completely covers the Sun from their linear perspective . There is , of line , a way of extending this time ; chasing the Moon as it casts its tincture on the Earth .

On foot or by car , you will not poke out this meter by much , even if you happen to discover a highwayfree from trafficon the day of a total solar eclipse . NASA is chasing today ’s occultation in WB-57 jet planes , for extend the clock time of entirety , and gather as much data point as possible .

“ The occultation essentially serve well as a controlled experiment , ” Bharat Kunduri , leader of a project to study the ionosphere during the occultation , said in astatement . “ It pass on us an chance to understand how change in solar radiation sickness can bear upon the ionosphere , which can in turn impact some of these engineering science like radiolocation and GPS that we rely on in our daily lives . ”

By go after the eclipse , scientists onboard the jets will witness an occultation go over 6 minutes and 22 second . While telling , this is nothing compared to the occultation witness in 1973 by scientists on control board the ultrasonic aircraft Concorde . Taking off from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and landing in Chad , the plane was in totality for over an hour .

" At 74 minutes , our chemical group aboard the Concorde set a disk for the amount of clip spent in totality that has never been broken , " Donald Liebenberg , who take to have spent the most clock time of any human in entirety , and was onboard Concorde that day , wrote in a piece forNBCin 2017 .

" To say the least , it was an experience I will never forget . "

As well as extending the length of totality experience , the flight extended the " first contact " and " third contact " phases of the occultation , where the Moon first spoil the human face of the Sun , and when the total phase ends .

Since then and its retirement , Concorde has put on several flight for paying tourer to see the eclipse , though not nearly by as much . If you ’d like to watch an lengthy eclipse , however , you are in luck . NASA islivestreamingtoday ’s occultation , following the path of totality as it prompt .

[ H / T : Space.com ]