The Concorde 001, which remained in the umbra of the Moon for nearly 74 minutes during the 1973 June 30 total solar eclipse, was flown by test pilot André Turcat†2016 and equipped with specialized equipment to study the solar corona. To benefit from the extraordinary speed of the Concorde, the French teams lead by Pierre Léna and Serge Koutchmy plus others on board had setup various measuring instruments and cameras to track the shadow of the Moon moving over the Sahara Desert at a speed of Mach 2 (over 2,200 km/h or 1,370 mph) and at an altitude of 17,000 meters (56,000 ft), allowing to multiply by ten the duration of totality. By flying inside the umbral shadow cone of the Moon at the same speed, the Concorde was going to stay in the darkness for nearly 74 minutes, the time for astronomers and physicists on board to do all the experiences they could imagine to complete during this incredible period of black Sun. They were able to achieve in one hour and fifteen minutes what would have taken decades by observing fifteen total solar eclipses from places that would have not necessarily gotten clear skies. The next Concorde eclipse flight occurred in 1999.

For the 40th anniversary of this historic flight, a permanant exhibit will be open to the public starting on 2013 June 30 at the Le Bourget Air and Space Museum near Paris, France. Having been invited for the inauguration on June 29th, a few pictures are now available.



You can use this solar eclipse calculator to compute the local circumstances of the eclipse. Click on thumbnails for a larger version



