From 7 minutes to 74 minutes: How a supersonic jet Concorde made day turn to night for over an hour

On 30 June 1973, Concorde 001 was turned into a flying laboratory and sent across the Sahara to chase the Moons shadow. Aboard were scientists from Europe and the United States, determined to extend totality beyond the natural limit of seven minutes. By flying faster than sound and aligning perfectly with the eclipse path, they achieved 74 minutes of darkness. Their work revealed new details of the Suns atmosphere, set a record that still stands, and transformed how eclipses are studied.