Eclipse '73

Description: A report on the solar eclipse of June 30, 1973 seen from the ground and from a plane. The 1973 eclipse was monitored in Africa, south of the Sahara. Deals with the considerable means employed by the international scientific community while showing the mechanics of an eclipse and its value for basic research. At Atar in the heart of the Mauritanian desert together with other Soviet, Japanese, Dutch and Italian scientists, the French mission brought in more than 20 tons of equipment, and used the most advanced technological means. The use of a supersonic Concorde 001, especially equipped by aerospace for this flight enabled them for the first time to monitor an eclipse for 74 minutes.