1973 Concorde eclipse flight

On 30 June 1973, the supersonic jet Concorde 001 intercepted the path of a total solar eclipse and followed the path of totality as it crossed Africa. This feat allowed the passengers to experience a total solar eclipse for 74 minutes, the longest-ever total eclipse observation. Five experiments were carried out during the flight, but they have had limited scientific impact. Sequence of events Preparation and lead up In May 1972, Pierre Léna, an astronomer with the Paris Observatory, met with French Concorde test pilot André Turcat over lunch at a restaurant at Toulouse Airport to propose his idea to view the 1973 eclipse from an aircraft. Léna describes this meeting in his book about the project, Concorde 001 et l’ombre de la Lune (2015), while Turcat describes it in Un mythe éclipsé in Bulletin de l’Académie des sciences, agriculture...