Astronomers Get Window Seat for Eclipse

Astronomers² Get Window Seat for Eclipse

An astronomer¹, TV weatherman and “eclipse chaser” named Joe Rao from New York begged an airline to change its schedule.

He wanted his flight to leave 25 minutes late so he and the other passengers could witness the solar eclipse from the air on March 8 and 9.

Usually airlines try not to delay their flights, but in this case, Alaska Airlines changed plans so a plane full of eclipse fans could see something special.

The Alaska Airlines flight from Alaska to Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon lined up perfectly³ with the eclipse.

And Mike Kentrianakis of the American Astronomical⁴ Society made a video of the moon passing between the sun and the Earth, creating a shadow and a view only seen once in a lifetime.

Kentrianakis was not the only person on the plane excited about the eclipse. One person had seen more than 30 eclipses in his life, according to an Alaska Airlines blog.

The eclipse lasted for about two minutes.

You can hear the excitement in his voice as the shadow appears.

“Oh, yeah, there it is. There’s the shadow. Wow, look at that. There it comes. Oh, my god, look at it. Here comes the shadow. Look at that. It’s (like) a tornado⁵. Oh, my god. Here we go..."

As he is narrating⁶, his voice cracks with excitement.

“Here we go. Look at this. Oh, my god. It’s coming ... the moon's shadow is coming. It is coming. Oh, my god. Here it comes. Look at this! I have never seen it like this ever, only in a plane...”

At the end of the eclipse, you can hear all the passengers cheering.

Did you miss this eclipse? You still have time to plan for the next total solar eclipse. It will be on August 21, 2017. It will be visible in the U.S., starting in Oregon and ending in South Carolina.

Book your tickets now.

Words in This Story

solar eclipse – n. an occasion when the sun looks like it is completely or partially⁷ covered with a dark circle because the moon is between the sun and the Earth

beg – v. to ask (someone) in a very serious and emotional way for something needed or wanted very much

tornado – n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point

once in a lifetime – n. a rare event

schedule - n. a list of times for a series of events or actions

view - n. an observation

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

5 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

6 narrating   

v.故事( narrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She entertained them by narrating her adventures in Africa. 她讲述她在非洲的历险来使他们开心。
• [Mike Narrating] Worm and I fall into our old rhythm like Clyde Frazier and Pearl Monroe. [迈克叙述] 虫子和我配合得象以前一样默契我们两好象是克莱德。弗瑞泽和佩尔。门罗。 来自电影对白

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。