Space Fanatics Are Paying Top Dollar to Fly Through the Eclipse

A spectacular solar eclipse is coming soon. While the rest of us suckers will be gazing, awestruck, from the ground (except for the winner of this contest), a small group of space enthusiasts will take a more proactive approach, chartering jets to fly directly into the path of the moon’s shadow.

Barring bad weather, the August 21 eclipse should be visible from everywhere in the continental United States. But for some people, "visible" is just not good enough. Teams of astronomers are sending balloon cams up to livestream the spectacle from the sky. Others will use plane-mounted telescopes to get an extremely rare glimpse of the happenings on the surface of the Sun and Mercury. Elsewhere, diehard eclipse lovers will board specially chartered flights for the sole purpose of spending a little more time in the all-consuming darkness.

"A total solar eclipse is one of nature's most awesome events," Sky & Telescope editor Kelly Beatty told Business Insider. "Anyone who's seen one knows that.” But from the air, Beatty said, “The sky is that much clearer and that much blacker. And that makes the corona that much brighter and more electric. It's really an electric-looking phenomenon."

The jets are small and the demand is high, which means a single seat can easily cost $10,000 or more. At most, the flight will buy passengers a few extra minutes in the dark.

Those who’ve done it before say the trip is worth every penny.

“I have no intention of ever missing an eclipse for the rest of my life. I don't care where it is, even in the remotest area of the Earth," said passenger Craig Small. "I have to be there, I will be there."

Co-passenger Joel Moskowitz agreed.

"When you see one, you want to see more,” he said. “You get hooked. Seeing the corona during totality is better than sex."