The ultimate eclipse chase: A Concorde raced against the Moon's shadow

Per Ars Technica, eight scientists set a world record in June nineteen seventy-three by observing a total solar eclipse for seventy-four minutes. They achieved this by flying the Concorde at more than twice the speed of sound across Africa, chasing the eclipse's shadow. For comparison, the maximum duration of totality from the ground is only about seven and a half minutes in equatorial regions. That historic Concorde prototype is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum of France, its nose painted with a map tracing the path of that audacious eclipse chase.

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