Rockin' the Eclipse with a WB-57 Canberra

Article at Newspeak: Solar Eclipse to Be Chased by NASA Jet Planes

Article at the BBC: What it feels like to fly through a solar eclipse

The weather's always clear at 50,000 feet.

That's a telescope in the nose.  I hope.

More on the WB-57 Canberra and why NASA still uses them at the BBC.

As a side-trip, it is interesting to note how the Canberra was developed from the WWII Mosquito light bomber, which was in turn developed form a 1930's air racer, the DH.88 Comet.  Here, have some three-views of each in turn:

Grandaddy DH.88 Comet

Daddy Mosquito

And the 80yo kid, the B-57 Canberra.  Heavily modified for NASA of course.

All this should come as little surprise, since the Mosquito was the proto-communication satellite.  Two big engines, giant wings, room for fuel, and squeeze in a small crew – amazing what you can do starting with those basics.