Archive · 10 Aug 2026
NASA Pilots Chase August 12 Solar Eclipse From Iceland
On August 12, the moon will pass in front of the sun and make a total solar eclipse.
During a total eclipse, the sky grows dark in the middle of the day.
People watching from the ground will see darkness for about 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
Two NASA pilots will fly a special plane to stay in the moon's shadow even longer.
Their plane takes off from an airport in Iceland and flies toward Greenland.
Because the plane flies so high and fast, the pilots will enjoy almost three minutes of darkness.
The plane has four cameras that take many pictures of the sun.
The pictures will show giant loops of hot gas called prominences and tiny explosions called nanoflares.
Each nanoflare releases as much energy as thousands of atomic bombs.
These pictures help scientists understand why the sun's outer layer, the corona, is so much hotter than its surface.
A total solar eclipse on August 12 will bring 2 minutes 18 seconds of totality for observers on the ground.
Two NASA pilots will chase the eclipse aboard a WB-57 research plane departing from Keflavik Airport in Iceland.
Flying at 50,000 ft and about 740 km/hr, the pilots will experience nearly three minutes of totality, roughly 42 seconds longer than on the ground.
The aircraft's four cameras will photograph the sun in different wavelengths to capture prominences and nanoflares.
Each nanoflare releases energy equivalent to thousands of atomic bombs, helping explain why the corona exceeds 1,000,000°C while the surface is 6,000°C.
- Who
- Two NASA pilots, with comments from Cary Klemm, a sensor equipment operator at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
- What
- A total solar eclipse on August 12 that the pilots will chase in flight to observe solar prominences and nanoflares.
- When
- August 12, a Wednesday.
- Where
- Over the ocean from Keflavik Airport in Iceland, north toward Greenland, then along a curving course 64 km off the Icelandic coast.
- Why
- To study the sun during totality, including prominences and nanoflares, which helps explain why the corona is far hotter than the sun's surface.
- Eclipse date
- August 12
- Totality on the ground
- 2 minutes 18 seconds
- Totality in the aircraft
- Nearly 3 minutes (about 42 seconds longer)
- Aircraft
- WB-57 with four cameras
- Flight route
- Keflavik Airport, Iceland, north toward Greenland, then 64 km off the Icelandic coast
- Altitude
- 50,000 ft
- Moon's shadow speed
- More than 3,200 km/hr
- Temperatures
- Corona more than 1,000,000°C; surface 6,000°C