Hello Eclipse Chasers,

It was the most beautiful Diamond Ring that I have ever seen, clear, sharp and
against a black sky background!
As I write this, the moment is flashing in my mind, and I am having difficulty
in finding the right word to describe it. The little bead of the sun that came
out and formed the diamond ring shone brightly, it seemed as if someone was
shining a laser right into my eye. I was mesmerised as well as afraid of staring
at it. The moment is etched in my mind forever.

The Eclipse Flight conducted by SPACE was a grand success.

Excitement levels rose exponentially as the JetLite aircraft took off from the
runway at Delhi, Captain Oswal immediately requested and was permitted to fly at
the cruising altitude of 41000 ft. Eclipse chasers sitting on the earth side
seat were the first ones to see the partial eclipse begin. As we flew towards
south-east, the partially eclipse sun appeared on the forward side of the right
hand side windows.

The Eclipse Flight seemed to travel much quicker than a normal flight, soon
enough we were in a holding pattern, circling over Bodh Gaya. We, at SPACE, had
planned for 30 alternate runs and were ready for any contingency. During the
hold period over Bodh Gaya I had a discussion with Captain Oswal and the
totality run was selected from the many that we had prepared for longitude 85°,
over Taregna. Captain fed in the coordinates for the first point of the
'Totality Run' in the Flight Management System and the correct time. From the
starting point of the totality run, the aircraft would be moving in a straight
line heading towards azimuth 345° or north-north-west. As we approached the
starting point of the totality run captain saw a big black cumulus sitting right
at the starting point! Captain diverted about 10 miles eastwards to avoid the
cloud.

In the aircraft cabin we saw this dark cloud and were suddenly alarmed and
concerned, but it quickly passed. As the aircraft made its final turn to enter
the totatiy run, the fine crescent came into view on the starboard side windows.
Ninety seconds later we were treated to the broad diamond ring at second
contact. With the sun extinguished, the shimmering corona at a multi million
degrees, riding thousands of miles on the Sun's magnetic lines. The corona
against the black sky background shone brighter at this height. To the naked eye
the corona looked like a broad '+' plus sign. Looking at the sketch made by
Neelam I was confused, how could the corona be extending in four direction, one
more look outside the window, the corona looked just like she had drawn.

How quickly the totality passed, 4 minutes just flashed by in what seemed just a
few seconds, leaving us wanting more and more. And then the tiny bead of
sunlight appeared towards the top of the eclipse sun. Oh! what a sight, it was
the sharpest little bead pouring pure white light towards us. Along with the
bright corona it formed Diamond Ring that surpassed all other seen from the
ground. A cry rose from everyone's lips inside the aircraft, and every one was
silently gazing at this pure beautiful scene brought about by nature. Eight year
old Arjune sat gazing at the spectacle, he had to be reminded to move his gaze
away.

The diamond ring broadened into a crescent slowly. The aircraft remained in the
direction for about 5 more minutes to see the crescent sun and then turned left
to head back towards Delhi. Everyone sat in a trance on the return path, no one
even remotely interested in the breakfast being served by the cabin crew. Every
one, except the media persons that is, they were busy interviewing all the
eclipse chasers one after another.

Unbelievable, Fabulous, Glorious and many more words like these, fall way short
of what we saw.

The Commander of the Eclipse Flight congratulated all eclipse chasers on board
and also congratulated SPACE for taking such a step to organise this flight.
Further Capt. Oswal congratulated SPACE for meticulously planning the exact path
to be taken by the aircraft, and so many alternative plans. With this extreme
planning nothing seemed to go wrong. The aircraft was right in the middle of the
shadow at the right time.

The Eclipse Flight will remain the first ever passenger eclipse flight in India,
conceptualised, initiated and conducted by Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum - the
eclipse sphere of SPACE. The Athenaeum is indebted to Mr Glenn Schneider to
provide the Eflight software which helped in planning the flight paths.
http://nicmosis.as.arizona.edu:8000/

Which brings us to the question which is popping up every now and then
When is the next time we can do this again?
Well there is the annular solar eclipse coming up in India on 15 January 2010,
and then the total solar eclipse on 11 July 2010 happening over Tahiti, Easter
Islands and Chile!

Ajay Talwar





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