This is what a total solar eclipse looks like from a plane
Millions of people on Earth were treated to views of a solar eclipse on Tuesday, but only a select few got to see the cosmic event from the sky.
Two commercial airline flights — Garuda Indonesia Flight 649 and Alaska Airlines Flight 870 — were in the path of the total solar eclipse. This allowed lucky passengers to get a look at the relatively rare alignment of the sun, Earth and moon from the comfort of an airplane seat.
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Seeing the eclipse from the sky also gives watchers the chance to be above the clouds, which can obscure views for people on land.
Some airline passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 870 during the eclipse shared the views with people on the ground.
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Alaska Airlines specifically delayed the flight in order to provide passengers with the best view possible of the total eclipse.
Arranging flights to view solar eclipses from the air isn't a new idea: Some operators offer specific charter flights for skywatchers hoping to check out eclipses that are difficult to see from the ground for years. And in 1887, Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev ascended above the clouds in a balloon to view a total eclipse over Russia.
Eclipse chasers on the Alaska Airlines flight seemed pretty excited ahead of the big event.
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Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the planet as it blocks the light from the star.
If you missed this eclipse, don't despair, another solar eclipse will rise this year.
On Sept. 1, an annular eclipse will make the sun look like a "ring of fire" above parts of southern Africa, the Pacific Ocean and other areas.
And in 2017, a total solar eclipse will darken the skies above much of the continental United States in what is being billed as one of the most impressive solar eclipses in recent memory.
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Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
