A JetLite flight will take passengers on a 3-hr trip chasing the July 22 solar eclipse till Gaya
A JetLite flight will take passengers on a 3-hr trip chasing the July 22 solar eclipse till Gaya
It could be your only chance to photograph the eclipse from such close quarters. Cox and Kings India Ltd, the Space Technology And Education Ltd, and the Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum (ECa), are organising a passenger eclipse flight on July 22 to witness the solar eclipse that will start at sunrise near Surat in Gujarat.
The maximum duration of this eclipse is six minutes 38 seconds and the shadow of the moon will be so large during this eclipse, that even at sunrise, the duration of totality is more than three minutes.
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Rare: On July 22, the solar eclipse will last for six minutes 38 seconds |
A JetLite 737-700 has been especially chartered for this purpose. Arup Sen, executive director, Cox and Kings India Ltd said, "This is the first time we have attempted this journey and we believe that with the support of ECa, we will embark on a historic flight."
The eclipse flight will last for three hours and it will take off from New Delhi at 4.30 am, fly towards and hold over Gaya, which is 100 kms south of Patna, till the eclipse time. At a precise time, the totality run towards north-north-west will be initiated.
The aircraft will be intercepting the middle of the eclipse shadow at 6.26 am at a height of 41,000 feet.
Two categoriesThe aircraft window seats have been divided into two categories. There are 21 "Sun Side" seats, which will get a direct view of the eclipse and, hence, cost Rs 79,000.
The "Earth Side" seats, which cost much lesser at Rs 29,000, will grant the passengers a view of the lunar shadow.
Piyush Pande, director of the Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai, said the trip would be worth the money.
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"This has been done before in 1973, 1995 and 1999 respectively, but maybe this is the first time it is being done on a commercial flight. It will be great for anyone who can experience this," he said.
"And you don't have to worry about your eyes, as the moon will be your umbrella during that time," added Pande.
It's an astronomical phenomenaThis year will witness three eclipses in quick succession the lunar eclipse on July 7, a solar eclipse on July 22 and another lunar eclipse on August 6.
