Who photographed the Concorde eclipse image from 1973, and was it shot from another aircraft?

Asked 10/12/2016

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I’m trying to identify and understand the well-known image of Concorde during the 1973 solar eclipse mission. Some larger versions of the picture show reflections that make it look like it may have been photographed through a cockpit window, and I’ve seen the image attributed elsewhere to Arthur Gibson.

Was this actually a photograph rather than an illustration, and if so was it likely taken from another aircraft flying nearby? I’m also interested in any clues about how the lighting in the image would have worked during the eclipse.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

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This isn't a complete answer, but I think I can add to the plausibility of it being a real photo by explaining the lighting.

During an eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow on the ground. Concorde 001 is depicted at the "diamond ring" point of an eclipse, where the Sun is just barely touching the edge of the Moon's disk. Therefore the aircraft, while still in shadow, is only on the very edge of the dark area. Looking out from the windows of an aircraft at altitude, the view of the ground would appear like this:

enter image description here

As you can see, although there is very little light from the Sun, there is quite a bit of light reflected back from the illuminated part of the ground. I believe this reflected light is what's illuminating the aircraft. (Note that in the original version of the Concorde image, the light has quite a strong blue cast, which is consistent with this as well.)

Additionally, one of the answers mentions "light rays appearing to pass between the plane and the viewer". I believe that these "light rays" are simply a lens flare or diffraction effect, caused by shooting directly into the small area of the Sun that's visible on the edge of the Moon's disk.

Note that the lighting provides further evidence that the photo was taken from another aircraft. They would have to have been flying at quite a high altitude for the lighting to look like this.

Originally by user56937. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user56937

9y ago

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AI Answer

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Based on the discussion, it was likely a real photo, not an illustration, though the exact attribution is still not fully confirmed. Arthur Gibson is a plausible credit, and period Concorde archives reportedly credit some related images to him.

It is also plausible that the picture was taken from another aircraft. During the 1973 eclipse campaign, Concorde 001 was accompanied by other aircraft, including a Boeing NC-135, and there are references to photography being done on the NC-135. That makes an air-to-air shot feasible, even if no definitive source in the thread proves this specific image came from that plane.

The lighting is believable for an eclipse image: at the “diamond ring” stage, the aircraft could still be lit by light reflected from the brighter ground outside the Moon’s shadow, even with the Sun largely obscured. That would explain why the plane remains visible.

So the best-supported conclusion from the answers is: probably a genuine air-to-air photo, possibly shot from a support aircraft, with Arthur Gibson as a plausible attribution—but not conclusively proven here.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

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