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At an altitude of 39,000 feet, 50 people are getting ready for a particular encounter with the Sun: at 1:04 p.m. on Monday, December 14, from a plane flying over Araucanía at the exact moment of the total eclipse, one of the most sought-after astronomical events of the year.
Above, on the mountain range, a motley group manifests its nervousness in different ways. Pamela Diaz, the new signing of TV +, calls out loud for a Samsung charger because it ran out of battery; Mauricio Bustamante concentrates on the buttons on his camera; Polo Ramirez talk to your cameraman; and Jordi Castell walks down the hall with the most stylish mask on the plane he commands Klaus von Storch, the “Chilean Starman”, by far the most mediatic pilot in the country.
Of the 50, not a few have been invited as brand-new winners of a contest organized around the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, the same phone that was given to those present to record the mythical cosmic crossing.
The mission, strictly speaking, is more complex than it seems: in order to capture the moment, Klaus will have to perform a risky maneuver that in simple terms is reduced to tilting the ship so that the passengers achieve – by twisting and with their backs to their seats, looking up at the sky above the sky – capture a shot of the “lit moon”.
There is nervousness in the crew: it is likely that no one will make it. It is likely that, of the 50, no one can even look at the Sun, much less photograph it, and that everything has been in vain.
“The ISO between 50 and 200!”shouts through the loudspeakers the Chilean Elías Inostroza, famous “local eclipse hunter”. “We will not have time, it is only a few seconds and put a protector on the camera if they photograph directly at the Sun”, orders our instructor, making the task even more complex.
12:55 hours. Klaus reports that there are minutes left, that the weather conditions are favorable and that the interior lights will be dimmed for a better experience. Those in the right column must ask permission from those in the opposite window if they want to approach the solar landmark, he warns.
To appreciate the shadows of light projected on the Chilean territory, the rite must be reversed: from left to right. One of the “faces” of the journey ensures that he can already perceive, “and feel”, that the eclipse is coming. Joaquin Mendez can no longer be seated. And “La Fiera”, unexpectedly, only transmits peace.
At 1:00 p.m. the evidence is undeniable: the eyes hurt a little and the light has gradually turned reddish. The winners of the contest, mostly huddled in the right column, must look for places in the left column: some get it and others don’t.
The phones and the eyes are on and little by little the Sun too. The previously irritated view now gives way to colors rarely assimilated at such a height. And suddenly, without even noticing it, a giant glow is projected over the clouds: a reverse glow, as if we were flying over the operating room of the planet’s illuminator. But that surreal behind the scenes is just the beginning.
At 1:02 p.m., the expressions of astonishment become loud, and as the seconds tick by, the words run out or mutate into whispers. At 13:03, everything is almost dark, red, black, orange and blue at the same time. The telephones are registering everything. And without warning, everyone loses their balance as bags fall to the ground: it is Klaus’ maneuver to capture the Sun.
Spinning between screams and gymnastic efforts, with some dizzy and others despairing in silence, at 13:04 there is chaos but also emotion, and a floor that spins to the sound of aerodynamic vertigo.
We are in it, assimilating the phenomenon, processing it, when the phrase that nobody wants to hear is heard: “It was already”. But the five letters do not cause distress, but rather a strange hubbub and a spirit of urgent communication.
The “famous” begin to converse with the non-famous. And others, complain because the former did not provide them with a seat at the time of the eclipse. A small controversy is generated, but it is not astral or sidereal: now, what matters is talking about the eclipse, the outer universe and humanity, the “cosmos and its planets”. We are in that strange metaphysical halo begins Klaus informs that the trip is over, that you have to tighten your seat belts for the landing in sunny Santiago de Chile.
At the airport, the crew members share their photos, ideas and phones. “It was a different trip, did you like it?”, Asks Klaus, who last year also commanded a plane on the occasion of the previous solar eclipse, this time with the star at the height of the window and without inclination through.
Back in the capital, the winners of the cell phone contest become friends and coordinate a WhatsApp group where a long gossip begins about the attitudes of some TV stars in a truly stellar moment. The “faces”, for their part, retreat together. Everyone, famous and not famous, from 13:04 talk about the same thing: “How did your photos come out?”.
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