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For most people, a total solar eclipse lasts just a few minutes.

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But NASA's pilots find a way to make it last longer

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by trying to outrun the Moon’s shadow

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with an airplane.

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The truth is it's actually chasing us.

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We get out in front of it and let it overtake us.

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Once we're in totality,

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then we'll advance the throttles to max

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and try and stay in totality for as long as we can.

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Making that happen takes extreme precision.

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Scientists calculate exactly where the airplane needs to be at each moment.

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We do a lot of missions where being in the right point in time and space are critical

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and this is one of them.

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On eclipse day,

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the WB-57 aircraft climbs more than 50,000 feet into the stratosphere.

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That’s above most of Earth's atmosphere,

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where clouds, dust, and water vapor could obscure the view.

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Viewing an eclipse from 50,000 feet provides a really clear shot of the Sun

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and that allows the scientists to have confidence that the data

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they're seeing is from the Sun rather than distortions from the atmosphere.

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When the Moon’s shadow arrives, it engulfs the aircraft.

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It’s weird. Right where you’re at it’s dark but everywhere you see, it's twilight.

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The temperature in the cockpit drops, so it’s very noticeable. 

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As the eclipse unfolds,

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the pilot keeps the aircraft on course

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while the sensor operator fine-tunes the cameras, capturing every second of data.

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You're very, very, very busy

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and it's very high pressure because, of course, there's no do-overs.

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You only get one opportunity to get all these instruments trained on the right spot.

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For the aircraft crew,

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it’s a chance to witness one of nature's most spectacular events

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while helping scientists better understand our Sun.

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I'm sitting in the best seat in the house

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— it's pretty exciting.

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