A Sunflower’s View of Totality

The Moon slid between the Sun and Earth to produce a stunning celestial show visible from Spain in August 2026.

The top 3

  1. Space Station Perspectives: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) witness the Moon's vast shadow moving rapidly over Earth, offering a unique, continent-scale view of the cosmic spectacle from over 400 kilometers in space.
  2. Supersonic Jet Eclipse Chasers: The Concorde jet famously extended totality to 74 minutes in 1973 by flying at Mach 2.05 along the Moon's shadow over the Sahara Desert, a record for human observation.
  3. Stratospheric Balloon Observations: Scientific balloons, like those in the NASA-funded Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, carry cameras and instruments into the stratosphere (up to 100,000 feet) to study the Sun's corona and atmospheric effects above most weather and turbulence.

Sources

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