| |
Program Itinerary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Day
1
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Arrive Düsseldorf International
Airport, Germany |
|
| |
Eclipse-flight
participants from around the world arrive at Düsseldorf
International Airport (DUS) according to their own flight
schedule and transfer to their hotel. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Join us late this afternoon at the Intercity Hotel
Düsseldorf for a mandatory briefing to provide final
details for our flight. You’ll also meet
Sky & Telescope’s
J. Kelly Beatty, in-flight eclipse consultant Dr. Glenn
Schneider, and our LTU flight crew. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Day 2
Fri,
August 1
In Flight
Food Service
Flight through Totality! |
|
| |
In
the very early morning, we meet at Köln/Bonn Airport (CGN)
to board our chartered LTU International Airways Airbus
330-200 aircraft and begin the 12-hour Flight Through
Totality. Once over the Arctic Ocean we continue
northward for a fly-over of the geographic North Pole.
Then, less than 9° from the Pole, we experience the
total solar eclipse from the pristine, dark, and
cloud-free skies at least 10,700 meters (35,000 feet)
above sea level. Flying above 75% of the Earth's
otherwise murky atmosphere virtually ensures that our
view of this cosmic spectacle will be unhindered by
clouds and will provide sky darkness and transparency
impossible to achieve from the ground. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
A wide
range of possible flight plans have been
developed by our technical team. The westernmost
option intercepts the centerline of the eclipse
path (mid-eclipse) at 9:34:53 Universal Time,
corresponding to longitude 32° 24' W, latitude
83° 20' N, along the northeast coast of
Greenland. From this location, the Sun will be
20°
above
the true horizon, and
totality will last 2 minutes 40 seconds — 13
seconds longer than is possible from the ground.
However, if passenger load and meteorological
conditions permit, our intercept point will be
shifted |
|
 |
|
|
|
eastward to afford
more time in totality.
The easternmost option intercepts the centerline
at 9:47:00 UT, corresponding to longitude 33°
43' E, latitude 81° 4' N (midway between
Svalbard and the west coast of Franz Joseph
Land). This vantage point would extend totality
to a full 3 minutes. |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Flight Path Options - Press
to Enlarge |
|
Eclipse Durations - Press to Enlarge |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Regardless of the path
chosen, our LTU pilots will
assume the final heading for our Totality Run
approximately 6 minutes before totality begins (2nd
contact) and maintain it for at least a few minutes
after it ends (3rd contact). During this time the
eclipsed Sun will be visible directly out the aircraft’s
right-side windows. Its altitude in the sky will range
between 20°
(at the westernmost intercept) to 27°
(easternmost intercept). |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Our
chartered Airbus 330-200 aircraft is configured with
2-4-2 seating.
Passengers in eclipse-viewing rows over the wing are
additionally assigned a Flightseeing Row on the opposite
side of the aircraft. Passengers are guaranteed
exclusive access only to the seats they have been
assigned. Note: During our “Totality Run,” specific
seats in eclipse-viewing rows will be required to be
reclined or upright to offer optimal use of windows for
eclipse viewing. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
During
the flightseeing periods before and after the eclipse,
the center section (D,E,F,G) of rows 15-34 will be
available for those passengers who want to relax, visit
with others, or rest during the flight. All other
center-section seats will be reserved for Deutsche
Polarflug’s flightseeing passengers. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Upon our return to Germany in the afternoon, our Flight
Through Totality concludes with arrival at
Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS), a one-hour
drive from our morning departure airport.
Participants in the
will be transferred back to the city. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
To learn
more about the logistical aspects of this flight, visit
astronomer
Dr. Glenn Schneider's
website. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Eclipse Flight
Highlights |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Of course, you won’t want to look out
the window only during the solar eclipse
— the scenery below will be breathtaking
throughout the entire flight. Our route
crosses southern Norway and the
Norwegian and Greenland seas, entering
the zone of the “the midnight Sun” once
we reach latitude 72° N. As we approach
Svalbard, a large Norwegian island with
many Russian inhabitants, you’ll gaze
down on the rugged mountains and fjords
along its west coast. We cruise onward
over the vast Arctic ice pack, then fly
over and circumnavigate the geographic
North Pole before our precise rendezvous
with the Moon’s shadow. When we’re not
concentrating on the eclipse, we’ll
enjoy expert commentary about the
natural history of the North Pole and
the Arctic region’s many sights. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
