Article Posted on : - Jun 30, 2009

An Indian air force Mirage 2000 taxis into position A file photo.

NEW DELHI (BNS): Indian Air force will study and film the July 22 solar eclipse, by flying a jet fighter and a transport aircraft with a team of scientists.

Agreeing to a request of Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, the IAF agreed to be part of the scientific experiment. The total solar eclipse, was last seen in India in 1999 and will occur again only in 2034.

"The Mirage will take off from its Gwalior home base, while the AN-32 will fly from either Bagdogra or Patna. The AN-32 will carry four scientists and a six-member Doordarshan camera crew to record the event through its rear ramp, which will be opened,'' Times of India quoted an IAF official as saying.

Udaipur based Solar Observatory and Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore are also associated with the project. The co-pilot on the Mirage-2000, in turn, will carry `a DGSL camera' with high-end zoom lens to capture the event. On July 21, both aircraft will perform a practice runs to make the performance perfect for the final day.

According to the newspaper, “The eclipse will be visible from the Gulf of Cambay to Arunachal Pradesh. It can be viewed better and for a longer duration from the aircraft flying along the shadow on the Sun. It will be recorded fully.''

July 22 will make IAF an eclipse-chaser or star-gazer now.