Samsmachado: Created 1973 Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001
{{Infobox event
| title = 1973 Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001
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| date = {{start date|1973|06|30}}
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*[[Pierre Léna]]
*[[André Turcat]]
*[[Donald Liebenberg]]
}}
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On June 30, 1973, the [[Supersonic transport|supersonic]] jet [[Concorde]] 001 intercepted the path of a [[Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973|total solar eclipse]] and followed the moon's shadow across [[Africa]]. This feat allowed the passengers to experience a total solar eclipse for 74 minutes, the longest airborne 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 from the [[Paris Observatory]], proposed his idea to view the 1973 eclipse from an aircraft to [[André Turcat]], a French test pilot who worked with Concorde, over lunch at a restaurant inside [[Toulouse Airport]].<ref name=":2" /> Léna describes this meeting in his book about the 1973 flight, ''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, arts et belles lettres d’[[Aix-en-Provence]]'' (2013).<ref name=":3" /> British astrophysicist, John Beckman, had previously tried to obtain permission to use the 002 Concorde prototype to conduct a similar experiment, but was turned down.<ref name=":2" />
In autumn 1972, Léna was told that he, Turcat, and their teams could begin work, but that no firm decision would be made about the flight before February 1973. On February 2, it was announced that the flight would proceed. The scientists were able to carry out a test flight with their equipment on May 17, 1973 in their maiden supersonic flight. The final 2 hour and 36 minute rehearsal flight took place on June 28.<ref name=":3" />
=== June 30,1973 ===
[[File:SE1973Jun30T.png|alt=A map of earth showing the path of totality of the June 30 1973 solar eclipse as it crosses Africa|thumb|The path of totality of the eclipse]]
At 10:08 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]] on June 30, 1973, Concorde 001 departed [[Las Palmas]], [[Gran Canaria]] in the Spanish [[Canary Islands]] piloted by André Turcat and Jean Dabo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Jamie |date=2024-04-05 |title=How the supersonic Concorde jet broke the record for the longest total solar eclipse in history |url=https://www.space.com/how-concorde-broke-record-for-longest-total-solar-eclipse-in-history |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Hatherill |first=Chris |date=2016-03-09 |title=When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> Aboard the flight were Turcat and Dabo; flight mechanic Michel Rétif; radio navigator Hubert Guyonnet; Henri Perrier; and astronomers Léna, Beckman, Donald Hall, [[Donald Liebenberg]], Alain Soufflot, Paul Wraight, and Serge Koutchmy.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Léna |first=Pierre |author-link=Pierre Léna |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-21729-1 |title=Racing the Moon’s Shadow with Concorde 001 |date= |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-21728-4 |series=Astronomers' Universe |location= |language=en |translator-last=Lyle |translator-first=Stephen |trans-title=Concorde 001 et l’ombre de la Lune |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-21729-1}}</ref>
The plane intercepted the path of totality over [[Mauritania]] within 1 second accuracy of the planned rendezvous<ref name=":2" /> and flew at an altitude of 58,000 feet at [[Mach number|Mach 2]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref> Mauritania had agreed to close its airspace to commercial air traffic to ensure the success of the Concorde's flight.<ref name=":2" /> The aircraft flew in the lunar shadow over the Sahara including [[Mali]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Niger]], before landing in [[N'Djamena]] (then known as Fort-Lamy), [[Chad]].<ref name=":1" />
On the ground on Earth, the longest possible viewing of totality from a fixed location was 7 minutes and 4 seconds.{{refn|group=Note|Comparatively, the maximum duration for a total solar eclipse 7 minutes 31 seconds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=published |first=Joe Rao |date=2023-06-30 |title=One of the longest solar eclipses on Earth darkened the sky 50 years ago. Here's how it happened. |url=https://www.space.com/solar-eclipse-1973 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref>}} The Concorde experienced 74 minutes of totality with an extended [[Astronomical transit#Contacts|second contact]] of 7 minutes and extended [[Astronomical transit#Contacts|third contact]] of 12 minutes.
== Aircraft ==
The original Concorde prototype 001 made its first test flight in 1969 from Toulouse Airport.<ref name=":3" /> The specific modified verison of the aircraft used for this experiment was the Concorde 001F-WTS.<ref name=":3" /> The aircraft has four twin-spool Olympus 593 engines and two onboard [[Inertial navigation system|inertial guidance systems]]. Four specially-made [[Porthole|portholes]] were installed in the roof of the aircraft's [[fuselage]] to facilitate viewing of the sun.<ref name=":2" /> Infrared and optical cameras were installed in roof portholes to capture the sun's [[Stellar corona|corona]] with little atmospheric interference.<ref name=":1" />
The Concorde 001F-WTS is now kept as a permanent exhibit at the [[Musée de l'air et de l'espace|Musée de l’air et de l’espace]] in [[France]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
== Scientific observations ==
Five experiments were carried out during the 1973 Concorde 001 flight.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Beckman |first=J. |last2=Begot |first2=J. |last3=Charvin |first3=P. |last4=Hall |first4=D. |last5=Lena |first5=P. |last6=Soufflot |first6=A. |last7=Liebenberg |first7=D. |last8=Wraight |first8=P. |date=1973 |title=Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/246072a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=246 |issue=5428 |pages=72–74 |doi=10.1038/246072a0 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> Léna and his team (Université Paris) focused their efforts on studying the [[Stellar corona|F-corona]] (dust particles left over from comets in the sun's corona).<ref name=":3" /> Wraight ([[University of Aberdeen]]) used a side-porthole to watch the effects of the eclipse on oxygen atoms in the Earth's atmosphere. Liebenberg ([[University of California]], Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories) measured pulsations in light intensity, while Beckman ([[Queen Mary College]]) observed the far infrared emissions from the [[chromosphere]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />
== Legacy ==
Though this event garnered wide and lasting media attention, solar researchers are generally in agreement that the Concorde's flight has had limited scientific impact.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en |quote=The record-breaking flight made global headlines, and the Concorde that flew the mission has been enshrined in its eclipse-chasing variant at the French National Air and Space Museum. But solar researchers acknowledge that the flight only had a modest impact on our understanding of the sun.}}</ref> Kevin Reardon of the [[National Solar Observatory]] said of the flight, “Strangely no significant results were ever published from the effort. [...] The overall science output was not as notable as the flight itself."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en |quote=But as time went on, no major revelations were announced. The experiments on the Concorde produced results that went largely unused. Even measuring the five-minute oscillations in coronal intensity didn’t spark any further scientific insights. “Strangely no significant results were ever published from the effort,” says the National Solar Observatory’s Reardon, who is also an adjunct astronomy professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. [...] “The overall science output was not as notable as the flight itself,” Reardon summed up.}}</ref> Léna himself has admitted, "The five experiments all succeeded, but none of them revolutionized our understanding of the corona" and that "[the experiments] all played their role in the normal progression of scientific knowledge, but there were no extraordinary results."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hatherill |first=Chris |date=2016-03-09 |title=When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Vice |language=en |quote=But today Léna, who has recently published a book in French and English about the experiment, ''Racing the Moon's Shadow with Concorde 001'', is modest about what it accomplished. "The five experiments all succeeded, but none of them revolutionized our understanding of the corona," he says in a disarmingly honest way about the flight's immediate impact. "They all played their role in the normal progression of scientific knowledge, but there were no extraordinary results, it has to be said."}}</ref>
On [[Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999|August 11, 1999]], three Concorde aircraft — one from France and two from the [[United Kingdom]] — carried out a similar feat carrying tourists instead of scientists. Passengers paid $2,400, but experienced only four or five minutes of totality, which was difficult to see because of the small windows and the sun's height. A similar flight was planned for the [[Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001|June 21, 2001 solar eclipse]], but was canceled after the 2000 plane crash of [[Air France Flight 4590]].<ref name=":0" /> Airborne [[eclipse chasing]] has been successfully attempted on other non-supersonic airliners including the [[LATAM Airlines]] [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner|Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner]] (E-Flight 2019-MAX),<ref name=":0" /> and the 2024 Gulfstream V jet.<ref name=":1" />
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Aviation occurrences]]
[[Category:1973 in science]]
[[Category:20th-century astronomical events]]
[[Category:Solar eclipses]]
[[Category:June 1973 events in Africa]]
Okumaya devam et...
{{Infobox event
| title = 1973 Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001
| image =
| image_upright =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| english_name =
| time =
| timezone =
| duration = <!-- {{duration|h=x|m=x|s=x}} or {{time interval|date1|date2|options}} -->
| date = {{start date|1973|06|30}}
| venue =
| location =
| coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|region:XXXX_type:event|display=inline,title}} -->
| also_known_as =
| type =
| theme =
| cause =
| motive =
| target =
| perpetrator =
| first_reporter =
| budget =
| patron = <!-- or |patrons= -->
| organisers = <!-- or |organizers= -->
| filmed_by =
| participants = {{plainlist|
*[[Pierre Léna]]
*[[André Turcat]]
*[[Donald Liebenberg]]
}}
| outcome =
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 =
| casualties3 =
| reported deaths =
| reported injuries =
| reported missing =
| reported property damage =
| burial =
| displaced =
| inquiries =
| inquest =
| coroner =
| arrests =
| suspects =
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| convicted =
| charges =
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| verdict =
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| notes =
}}
On June 30, 1973, the [[Supersonic transport|supersonic]] jet [[Concorde]] 001 intercepted the path of a [[Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973|total solar eclipse]] and followed the moon's shadow across [[Africa]]. This feat allowed the passengers to experience a total solar eclipse for 74 minutes, the longest airborne 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 from the [[Paris Observatory]], proposed his idea to view the 1973 eclipse from an aircraft to [[André Turcat]], a French test pilot who worked with Concorde, over lunch at a restaurant inside [[Toulouse Airport]].<ref name=":2" /> Léna describes this meeting in his book about the 1973 flight, ''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, arts et belles lettres d’[[Aix-en-Provence]]'' (2013).<ref name=":3" /> British astrophysicist, John Beckman, had previously tried to obtain permission to use the 002 Concorde prototype to conduct a similar experiment, but was turned down.<ref name=":2" />
In autumn 1972, Léna was told that he, Turcat, and their teams could begin work, but that no firm decision would be made about the flight before February 1973. On February 2, it was announced that the flight would proceed. The scientists were able to carry out a test flight with their equipment on May 17, 1973 in their maiden supersonic flight. The final 2 hour and 36 minute rehearsal flight took place on June 28.<ref name=":3" />
=== June 30,1973 ===
[[File:SE1973Jun30T.png|alt=A map of earth showing the path of totality of the June 30 1973 solar eclipse as it crosses Africa|thumb|The path of totality of the eclipse]]
At 10:08 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]] on June 30, 1973, Concorde 001 departed [[Las Palmas]], [[Gran Canaria]] in the Spanish [[Canary Islands]] piloted by André Turcat and Jean Dabo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Jamie |date=2024-04-05 |title=How the supersonic Concorde jet broke the record for the longest total solar eclipse in history |url=https://www.space.com/how-concorde-broke-record-for-longest-total-solar-eclipse-in-history |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Hatherill |first=Chris |date=2016-03-09 |title=When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> Aboard the flight were Turcat and Dabo; flight mechanic Michel Rétif; radio navigator Hubert Guyonnet; Henri Perrier; and astronomers Léna, Beckman, Donald Hall, [[Donald Liebenberg]], Alain Soufflot, Paul Wraight, and Serge Koutchmy.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Léna |first=Pierre |author-link=Pierre Léna |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-21729-1 |title=Racing the Moon’s Shadow with Concorde 001 |date= |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-319-21728-4 |series=Astronomers' Universe |location= |language=en |translator-last=Lyle |translator-first=Stephen |trans-title=Concorde 001 et l’ombre de la Lune |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-21729-1}}</ref>
The plane intercepted the path of totality over [[Mauritania]] within 1 second accuracy of the planned rendezvous<ref name=":2" /> and flew at an altitude of 58,000 feet at [[Mach number|Mach 2]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref> Mauritania had agreed to close its airspace to commercial air traffic to ensure the success of the Concorde's flight.<ref name=":2" /> The aircraft flew in the lunar shadow over the Sahara including [[Mali]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Niger]], before landing in [[N'Djamena]] (then known as Fort-Lamy), [[Chad]].<ref name=":1" />
On the ground on Earth, the longest possible viewing of totality from a fixed location was 7 minutes and 4 seconds.{{refn|group=Note|Comparatively, the maximum duration for a total solar eclipse 7 minutes 31 seconds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=published |first=Joe Rao |date=2023-06-30 |title=One of the longest solar eclipses on Earth darkened the sky 50 years ago. Here's how it happened. |url=https://www.space.com/solar-eclipse-1973 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref>}} The Concorde experienced 74 minutes of totality with an extended [[Astronomical transit#Contacts|second contact]] of 7 minutes and extended [[Astronomical transit#Contacts|third contact]] of 12 minutes.
== Aircraft ==
The original Concorde prototype 001 made its first test flight in 1969 from Toulouse Airport.<ref name=":3" /> The specific modified verison of the aircraft used for this experiment was the Concorde 001F-WTS.<ref name=":3" /> The aircraft has four twin-spool Olympus 593 engines and two onboard [[Inertial navigation system|inertial guidance systems]]. Four specially-made [[Porthole|portholes]] were installed in the roof of the aircraft's [[fuselage]] to facilitate viewing of the sun.<ref name=":2" /> Infrared and optical cameras were installed in roof portholes to capture the sun's [[Stellar corona|corona]] with little atmospheric interference.<ref name=":1" />
The Concorde 001F-WTS is now kept as a permanent exhibit at the [[Musée de l'air et de l'espace|Musée de l’air et de l’espace]] in [[France]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
== Scientific observations ==
Five experiments were carried out during the 1973 Concorde 001 flight.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Beckman |first=J. |last2=Begot |first2=J. |last3=Charvin |first3=P. |last4=Hall |first4=D. |last5=Lena |first5=P. |last6=Soufflot |first6=A. |last7=Liebenberg |first7=D. |last8=Wraight |first8=P. |date=1973 |title=Eclipse Flight of Concorde 001 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/246072a0 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=246 |issue=5428 |pages=72–74 |doi=10.1038/246072a0 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> Léna and his team (Université Paris) focused their efforts on studying the [[Stellar corona|F-corona]] (dust particles left over from comets in the sun's corona).<ref name=":3" /> Wraight ([[University of Aberdeen]]) used a side-porthole to watch the effects of the eclipse on oxygen atoms in the Earth's atmosphere. Liebenberg ([[University of California]], Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories) measured pulsations in light intensity, while Beckman ([[Queen Mary College]]) observed the far infrared emissions from the [[chromosphere]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />
== Legacy ==
Though this event garnered wide and lasting media attention, solar researchers are generally in agreement that the Concorde's flight has had limited scientific impact.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en |quote=The record-breaking flight made global headlines, and the Concorde that flew the mission has been enshrined in its eclipse-chasing variant at the French National Air and Space Museum. But solar researchers acknowledge that the flight only had a modest impact on our understanding of the sun.}}</ref> Kevin Reardon of the [[National Solar Observatory]] said of the flight, “Strangely no significant results were ever published from the effort. [...] The overall science output was not as notable as the flight itself."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pappalardo |first=Joe |date=2023-06-30 |title=A supersonic jet chased a solar eclipse across Africa—for science |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-jet-chased-total-solar-eclipse-across-africa |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=National Geographic |language=en |quote=But as time went on, no major revelations were announced. The experiments on the Concorde produced results that went largely unused. Even measuring the five-minute oscillations in coronal intensity didn’t spark any further scientific insights. “Strangely no significant results were ever published from the effort,” says the National Solar Observatory’s Reardon, who is also an adjunct astronomy professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. [...] “The overall science output was not as notable as the flight itself,” Reardon summed up.}}</ref> Léna himself has admitted, "The five experiments all succeeded, but none of them revolutionized our understanding of the corona" and that "[the experiments] all played their role in the normal progression of scientific knowledge, but there were no extraordinary results."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hatherill |first=Chris |date=2016-03-09 |title=When Astronomers Chased a Total Eclipse in a Concorde |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/8q8qwk/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Vice |language=en |quote=But today Léna, who has recently published a book in French and English about the experiment, ''Racing the Moon's Shadow with Concorde 001'', is modest about what it accomplished. "The five experiments all succeeded, but none of them revolutionized our understanding of the corona," he says in a disarmingly honest way about the flight's immediate impact. "They all played their role in the normal progression of scientific knowledge, but there were no extraordinary results, it has to be said."}}</ref>
On [[Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999|August 11, 1999]], three Concorde aircraft — one from France and two from the [[United Kingdom]] — carried out a similar feat carrying tourists instead of scientists. Passengers paid $2,400, but experienced only four or five minutes of totality, which was difficult to see because of the small windows and the sun's height. A similar flight was planned for the [[Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001|June 21, 2001 solar eclipse]], but was canceled after the 2000 plane crash of [[Air France Flight 4590]].<ref name=":0" /> Airborne [[eclipse chasing]] has been successfully attempted on other non-supersonic airliners including the [[LATAM Airlines]] [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner|Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner]] (E-Flight 2019-MAX),<ref name=":0" /> and the 2024 Gulfstream V jet.<ref name=":1" />
== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Aviation occurrences]]
[[Category:1973 in science]]
[[Category:20th-century astronomical events]]
[[Category:Solar eclipses]]
[[Category:June 1973 events in Africa]]
Okumaya devam et...