The Irish Air Corps has once again demonstrated the unique capabilities of military aviation in support of scientific research, carrying a team of Irish and Italian solar physicists into the path of totality during this week’s solar eclipse over the North Atlantic. The mission transformed an Irish Air Corps Airbus C295 (285) into a flying observatory, allowing researchers to observe and record the Sun’s elusive corona from a position hundreds of kilometres west of Ireland.
While observers across Ireland witnessed a deep partial eclipse, the path of totality lay far out over the Atlantic Ocean. To overcome this challenge, the Air Corps flew researchers approximately 350km west of the coast, positioning the aircraft directly beneath the Moon’s shadow at around 10,000 feet.
The scientific team included specialists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), Trinity College Dublin, Technological University Dublin, Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and personnel from the Irish Air Corps. Their objective was to study the Sun’s corona, the outer atmosphere that becomes visible only during a total solar eclipse.
At the heart of the mission was the advanced E-CorMag solar telescope, developed by INAF using spare flight components from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter and Proba-3 missions. Scientists hope the instrument will help answer one of solar physics’ biggest mysteries: why the corona reaches temperatures of around two million degrees Celsius despite being much farther from the Sun’s surface.
Aviation played a crucial role in maximising the scientific return. By operating from the C295, researchers could position themselves exactly where conditions were most favourable, avoiding the cloud cover that so often affects ground-based observing in the North Atlantic region. The aircraft’s distinctive bubble observation window was opened during the mission, allowing the telescope an unobstructed view without the distortion caused by standard aircraft windows.
According to reports from the team following the flight, the mission was an outstanding success. DIAS astrophysicist Dr Laura Hayes described how the crew enjoyed unexpectedly clear conditions as they headed west, enabling researchers to capture the crucial observations during the brief period of totality. The scientists were even able to witness the Moon’s shadow sweeping across the Atlantic before collecting their data during the approximately two-minute observing window.
The operation also highlighted the increasing versatility of the Air Corps’ Airbus C295 fleet. Best known for maritime patrol, transport and search-and-rescue support duties, the aircraft proved equally capable as a platform for scientific research. In many ways, the mission echoed previous Irish Air Corps eclipse flights, including a successful airborne observation during the March 2015 solar eclipse.
