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Joe Vesey-Byrne
Aug 21, 2017
Alaska Airlines/YouTube screengrab
Some civilisations feared the eclipse as a bad omen, but not this astronomer.
In 2016, astronomer Dr Mike Kentrianakis witnessed the moon passing between the Sun and the Earth, from an amazing point of views.
Alaska Airlines opted to change their flight time, in order for Kentrianakis and a group of fellow astronomers on board, to see the eclipse that took place on 8 March.
According to Quartz; the year before, one of Kentrianakis' colleagues Dr Joe Rao asked Alaska Airlines if their flight could take off 25 minutes later, in order to catch the amazing sight of the eclipse.
That day, Flight 870 interacted with the path of totality of a total solar eclipse.
Kentrianakis recorded this video from the plane, and in the process also documented his contagious joy.
The video was taken 35,000 feet in the air, between Anchorage and Honolulu.
Kentrianakis shouts 'Oh my God' several times, with joy, and also provides a useful running commentary on the eclipse.
Look at that. Look at those prominences! You can see it with your naked eyes!
A solar prominence, is a bright, gaseous feature that shoots off of a star, usually in the shape of a loop.
Alaska Airlines shared the video, and this beautiful image from the flight.
HT Quartz
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