Eclipse at the Top of the World
- Bill Kramer

I’ve seen total solar eclipses from many different places. From ships at sea to remote jungles and camps where no other options existed. All were great. The key issue was always the weather. The weather is the one element of an eclipse chase we cannot control, pre-calculate, or predict. But it turns out we can out-smart it through technology. Now that is not to say that weather cannot still win the day, but the chances of successfully seeing the eclipse can be increased in the oddest of places.

For my twelfth total solar eclipse (Denise’s eighth) we had studied the climate and we were not convinced we could find a good location from which to view the eclipse in relative comfort. We had almost decided to chance it in Siberia when the notion of a technological solution was put forth. Fly in a jet above the clouds to clear sky in the polar regions thus affording a view out the side of a jet. Brilliant! And without getting complicated let me just say that is a great idea because it also affords the opportunity to make use of the jet to prolong the eclipse experience adding 10 to 15 seconds to totality.

Okay, the first problem was to find a jet capable of doing such. Most don’t fly near the polar regions because it makes navigation a bit difficult and except in a few rare circumstances it is out of way for most flights. The idea was discussed with some detail in 2006 and a search started for an aircraft. Because August was a busy time for polar exploration (oil and so forth) the aircraft were not available. After a long exhaustive search something popped up on the radar - out of Germany.

The company PolarFlug in Germany had been formed to conduct round trip polar flight seeing trips working with LTU, a German airliner company with new Airbus jets. Glenn Schneider (of the University of Arizona, Steward Observatory) made contact with them almost immediately. This novel concept happened to suit the needs perfectly assuming all the details could be threaded together. Glenn, a meticulous scientist and expert eclipse chaser, immediately put together all the technical details to get a flight into the right place at the right time. Coupling up with Sky and Telescope and Travel Quest the dream became a commercial opportunity and almost overnight a significant portion of the viewing windows were sold to serious eclipse chasers (those of us with over a half hour of eclipse time). The costs varied based on the window view with business class going for over ten grand a row (room for three). Even at that rate the PolarFlug company was forced to sell seats on the non-eclipse side in order to cover the costs of the fuel. But it was a go from the start with enthusiastic members on both sides so the pieces kept falling together.

The afternoon before the eclipse flight we all met in Dusseldorf at the Intercity Hotel. Many eclipse chasers greeted each other with warm smiles and handshakes. We had not seen each other since previous eclipses or were finally meeting for the first time after exchanging communications via the Internet news group SEML. A late afternoon briefing brought everyone together in one room with over a dozen of us being in the ten eclipses and more club. The flight crew was introduced and a detailed description of the flight plan was presented. We would be seeing almost three minutes of totality due to our trajectory running somewhat parallel with the shadow. Glenn Schneider and Kelly Beatty of Sky and Telescope presented the scientific and eclipse briefing information followed by a question and answer period. Everyone disbanded to prepare for an early departure to the airport. We wanted to be the first plane to take off at 6 AM when the airport opened for business. The flight was going to last twelve and one half hours. To the pole and back again!

At 3 AM the group gathered slowly. An all night cafe was open next to the hotel and many of us stumbled over there to get coffee. The Turkish proprietor was quite amused to see us all and then astonished to learn where we were going. We smiled and boarded a bus for the airport. At the airport we had special stickers along with our boarding pass. The security people had been forewarned of us. They knew we would be bringing more stuff than normal through the hand check. Waiting in the airport was like any other wait in the airport in the early hours of the morning. There was a quiet buzz of activity as we checked the SOHO images one last time (there was a small comet, about magnitude +2!) and then at last we boarded the plane. Brightly polished as if it had come out of the factory last night each window looked the best I’ve ever seen in a jet that does commercial service. It was an Airbus 330-200 and the crew had done an excellent job in getting it ready for us. Denise and I had the first row. It was surreal. We were going to fly to an eclipse, leaving German airspace and going to the polar regions - wearing sandals and short sleeves.

Away we went from Dusseldorf passing through a mild area of heavy humidity near 8000 feet and headed north over Hamburg, Denmark, Finland, and then the Spitzbergen - the northern most point of Europe.

Our flight plan included time to drop altitude and view the rugged terrain of the Spitzbergen area. Full of ice flows, glaciers, and rock it had a strange presence about it that was lonely and cold. We could see a ship headed out to sea and many thought it could be another eclipse group. That was good, they were bathed in sunlight.

Back on board the flight there was a problem. The rear windows were frosted over. As we had left the airport we had gone through an area of deep humidity and it was theorized that some had remained on the outer skin of the plane. That humidity had crystalized in the polar region resulting in severely diminished views through numerous windows. The result was a game of fill in every space possible and experiments with heating the cabin to try and melt it off.

The heating and cooling of the cabin caused other problems. Between the panes of glass a layer of condensation formed. This would diminish the view for many. One of our windows developed small frost points that are very obvious in the video shot through it. We had expected some problems and ours had held up well until the heat experiments began. From that point we had condensation between the window panels. And there is nothing you can do about that at 36,000 above the Arctic.

Fortunately the large lens I was using compensated for the moisture and I was able to obtain a range of exposures during the eclipse using a Cannon EOS digital camera with a 400mm (82mm diameter) lens. The image stabilizing in the camera and lens allowed for exposures up to 1/25th of a second at ASA 400. A suitable exposure of the mid corona given the speed of the system.

About a half hour before the eclipse I donned an eyepatch to dark adapt one eye. This is the first time I’ve tried that. Normally I just wear sunglasses until it is almost too dark to see. The eyepatch did not fit too well and I don’t think there was a significant improvement in the viewing through the foggy window. Next time I will go back to dark sunglasses.

As totality approached we settled into a level flight. Our trajectory would take us along the same path as the shadow was traveling (more or less) so that we would gain a few extra seconds. The shadow would approach from the left side of the aircraft passing over and to the right side. Due to our height above the clouds would see the shadow passing for several seconds as the eclipse began and again at the end. Kneeling down in the aisle to control the camera and lens on a small tripod I knew I would miss the start of the show along the clouds but I vowed to catch the end.

At exactly the time predicted we intersected with the shadow above the clouds. I could not see much of the horizon and concentrated on holding the image in the center (or near to it) of the view finder. This was the most challenging way to photograph the eclipse I have ever tried. I’ve done land with bad tripods, ships with bad tripods, but this was the worst condition. Cramped into a small spot with people trying to lean over me to look through the small 22x33cm window (those people were instructed to stay in their seats, but let’s be realistic. That was like telling someone they could go to an open bar party but only have water.) Firing snap after snap I increased exposures and then back down again. The vibration and slight movement of the aircraft as it sped along at Mach 0.82 above the ground meant I could not run too long an exposure.

Glenn Schneider did it right. He brought a gyro stabilized platform and mounted it in the cabin using heavy duty suction cups. The pilots should have been awarded a medal of bravery for allowing the heavy swinging contraption with multiple computers attached into the cockpit. Not only would this be a long flight of over twelve hours they would be making multiple altitude changes and flying a very precise course of coordinated check points as designed by Glenn.

This was not Glenn’s first try at this sort of eclipse chasing. One could almost say he invented the modern way of doing it though by establishing a set of unique parameters and carrying through with the development of a computerized tool that calculates flight paths and eclipse intercepts. Because of his work along with a slew of engineers who mastered how to navigate near the pole this flight was taking place.

And it went off like clockwork. Looking through the window and the eyepiece of the camera it was like a movie. The atmosphere almost too sterile. The sky around the corona was a deep blue. The eyepatch had enhanced my night vision, or so I thought, as it seemed bright in the cabin and out the windows. Through the lightly fogged window I could see the corona in a winged formation as expected during a time of low sun spot activity. Streams burst out from the equatorial regions (three prominent ones) and prominences danced at both sides of the moon. The view through the camera lens was magnificent and I snapped almost 100 photos during the two minutes and fifty five seconds of totality. Towards third contact I set a fast exposure and then looked without regard to the camera position as I snapped off one after another. I could see the shadow racing away underneath us! A red ochre color in the clouds. It was magnificent and I wished I had a bigger and clearer window.

It was over again. Dang those things are just too short! Just under three minutes passed too quickly. This time it was different. I didn’t feel the eclipse as much. Those that have stood under the shadow know what I’m talking about. The temperature is the most obvious as it drops. But there are other things like the shadow bands, the tension, the winds, the animals, the other people around you. That’s really it. While you hear others near you the roar of the jet engine drowns out the clammer of a group of eclipse chasers. Cameras clicking, oohs and ahhs, curses and praises all combine to form a unique eclipse atmosphere that is missing when viewed from an airplane. For some that is more good than bad, not for me, I like the sounds of the group reaction. Now here is the key for anyone who wonders about this form of eclipse chasing. The clouds are below you. The sky is an inky black gradually changing to an iridescent blue at the horizon. The colors of sunset dance along the clouds at the horizon, it is a wonderful site and a great feeling to know that the weather is not a problem.

After the eclipse run the jet veered off towards the North Pole to view the ice pack, swing around twice at 6000’ and then zoom back towards Germany.

It was a 12 and a half hour flight. A long time to be stuck in a long metal tube. Our pilots did a marvelous job and the flight crew was great. The only negatives were a few bad windows, the resultant reshuffling, some fogging, and those people from the polar side of the plane bumping into me as they tried to get a look.

Would I recommend such an adventure to see a total solar eclipse? Of course. But I must say that a land or sea based expedition is easier on the wallet, photographically, and provides a wider angle view. It was still a grand adventure to the North Pole and to see a total solar eclipse - in short sleeves and sandals too. I am grateful to be able to do these things and share the good times with others of a similar ilk.

Hope to see you sometime in the hunt for the shadow!

Reports and pictures from the eclipse of August 2008