ZAP // PegasusA4 / Twitter
The speed achieved by the hypersonic plane was sufficient to pursue the shadow of a spectacular astronomical phenomenon. Unfortunately, not all data was processed.
On June 30, 1973, a supersonic plane agreed to take off from the Canary Islands in Spain, with a mission that would mark one before and after in the history of science: Follow the shadow of an eclipse Total solar about Africa for more than an hour.
The operation, which joined scientists from four European countries, combined state -of -the -art technology, international cooperation and astronomical observation – and did not happen again until now.
In the context of Expansion of supersonic aviationthe flight departed from the cannaries with an international scientific team on board and a modified plane that served as air observatory.
The uniqueness of the moment did not only live in the type of aircraft used, but in the strategy: fly Mach 2.2 to extend the lunar umbraphenomenon that from land can only be observed a few minutes.
Spain’s geographical location allowed a perfect alignment with the trajectory of the eclipse, which converted Briti-Canaria to the ideal starting point.
Inside, the Concord 001 was equipped with infrared chambers and quartz crystals placed on your fuselage to capture unique images of the solar crown since 17,000 meters altitude. The prototype, without commercial use, has become in a makeshift but valuable scientific laboratory.
For the observation the concorde had to take off from Las Palmas airport in Gran Canaria when the shadow of the eclipse was still going through South America and intercept it over Mauritania, a country that had agreed to close its airspace for the mission.
– Pegasusa4 (@A4kikelippi)
This was an unrepeatable experience in the history of astronomy, highlights the.
During 74 minutes, seven scientists, among which the physical Don LiebenbergThey observed the eclipse from the African sky. “It was like being in the middle of a Absolute darkness in the light of day“Said Liebenberg in 2023 in an interview with.
The images obtained allowed to detect five -minute fluctuations at crown intensity, a difficult phenomenon from land due to atmospheric distortion.
Despite the historical character of the mission, most of the data collected were stored in 35 mm film rolls that have never been scanned. The lack of technical and economic resources prevented the material analysis from being completed, limiting the immediate scientific impact of the flight.
Nevertheless, your symbolic and experimental value remained in force as references for future solar investigations.
The mission, a collaboration between organisms from France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain, was the first in which the Concorde actively participated in an international scientific project.
More than half a century after this event, many data continue to analyze, but their memory remains intact for those who lived that mission.
Concorde, an extraordinary aircraft that dared to look at the sun, symbolizes a time when science was not only strict but also bold and creative – And the view of the curvature of the earth from an unusual altitude was recorded on the participants’ retina.
For the occasion, prototype 001 was used, the passenger area was modified where scientific equipment was placed in place. Holes were also made on the roof of the concorde fuselage and installed special observation windows.
– Pegasusa4 (@A4kikelippi)
