The total solar eclipse on Wednesday will cover parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and the Atlantic Ocean, and NASA's WB-57 aircraft will track it from 50,000 feet to capture unique images of the Sun's corona.
While most of Europe, including Croatia and the region, will only be able to observe a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday, NASA has prepared a special spectacle for astronomy enthusiasts. The U.S. space agency has sent its high-altitude aircraft, the WB-57, to track the total solar eclipse from 50,000 feet, as reported by Business Insider.
The total solar eclipse will cover parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, Portugal, and the Atlantic Ocean. NASA's live broadcast begins at 7:15 PM Central European Time, with totality expected in Iceland around 7:45 PM (5:45 PM UTC). The peak of the eclipse in Spain will be around 8:28 PM (6:28 PM UTC).
The WB-57, an aircraft NASA has used for scientific missions since the 1970s, will take off from Iceland and chase the Moon's shadow at 460 miles per hour. This will extend the duration of totality from the air to nearly 3 minutes, compared to 2 minutes and 18 seconds on the ground.
The aircraft will fly at 50,000 feet to avoid clouds, nearly three miles higher than the average passenger plane, although it is capable of reaching up to 63,000 feet. Four cameras mounted on the nose of the aircraft will capture 20 images per second of the Sun's corona, the outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere, in different wavelengths for scientific research.
"From our unique perspective on Earth during a total solar eclipse, scientists can study the Sun's corona in a way that is not possible anywhere else in the solar system," said Kelly Korreck, eclipse program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a statement released by NASA.
"The Sun affects our daily lives, satellites, and astronauts in space, and we can use this moment to advance our understanding of that impact."
The WB-57 has a crew of two: a pilot and a sensor operator who manages the complex scientific instruments, cameras, and navigation equipment. The NASA team flew to Europe on August 9 to prepare for the eclipse.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described the WB-57 and similar scientific aircraft as "excellent platforms for high-altitude research," adding that NASA "increasingly uses them as part of astronaut training."
NASA operates three WB-57 aircraft at Johnson Space Center in Houston, two of which are currently undergoing maintenance. One was pulled from service after a mechanical issue in January 2026 when the landing gear failed to deploy, leading to a belly landing. No crew members were injured.
The WB-57 is not the only aircraft that will track the eclipse. Several airlines and private planes will follow the phenomenon on specially organized, already sold-out flights. People have paid up to $1,200 for a ticket.
Spanish airline Iberia will fly with scientists along the path of totality and stream it live via Starlink WiFi. Iberia's aircraft will fly lower than the WB-57, at about 33,000 feet, but will offer passengers a cloud-free view of the eclipse.
For those outside the path of the eclipse, NASA will stream the event live, and the WB-57 can also be tracked on flight tracking websites like Flightradar24. A partial eclipse will also be visible from the East Coast of North America around 12:57 PM Eastern Time: 19% in Portland, Maine; 16% in Boston; and 9% in New York.
Interestingly, a total solar eclipse will not be visible from Bosnia and Herzegovina until the distant year 2081, making today's event especially valuable to watch via the live stream.
