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Photo of the Nov. 23, 2003 Total Solar Eclipse
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 10:55 am ET
24 November 2003
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A group of 74 astronomers and eclipse enthusiasts captured images of Sunday's total solar eclipse from a flight over the AntarcticA group of 74 astronomers and eclipse enthusiasts captured images of Sunday's total solar eclipse from a flight over the Antarctic. The flight, organized by Sky & Telescope magazine and TravelQuest International, was aboard a LanChile Airbus A340 passenger jet. The passengers saw 2 minutes and 20 seconds of totality, when the Moon blocked out the main disk of the Sun, allowing only bits of light from its atmosphere, called the corona, to peek around the edges. "Eclipse veterans on board said it was the best ever," said J. Kelly Beatty, executive editor of the magazine, who e-mailed his comments back to America. "We have a lot of very happy people this morning!" Here's how one photo (top at right) of the Nov. 23 eclipse, taken by Sky & Telescope senior editor Dennis di Cicco, was described: "The onset of totality is marked by the 'diamond ring' effect as the Moon has covered the entire face of the Sun except for a lone bead of sunlight shining through a deep valley on the lunar limb. The solar corona, a softly glowing, million-degree plasma, is just coming into view around the Moon's silhouette. Note the bright prominence at upper right, a finger of hot gas glowing in the red light of the hydrogen atom." The total eclipse was visible only along a narrow track that crossed Antarctica. A partial eclipse was visible from the tip of South American and parts of Australia and New Zealand. The jet intercepted the eclipse at 6:06 p.m. ET at an altitude of 38,000 feet. The Sun was 12 degrees above the horizon and visible directly off the aircraft's left wing. The entire flight was 14-hours long and left from Punta Arenas, Chile. [Eclipse Calendar] More Photos of the Nov. 23 2003 Solar Eclipse
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