1974: The Total Eclipse in Northern Kenya

Kenya has been placed on the world map, boasting one of the best locations on earth to view the solar eclipse: along the shores of Lake Turkana.

A total solar eclipse was sighted in Turkana in 1973. A group of scientists from the Los Alamos National Laboratory observed this eclipse using two aeroplanes, extending the apparent time of totality by flying along the eclipse path in the same direction as the moon’s shadow as it passed over Africa.

The eclipse was also observed by a charter flight. At 35,000 feet just off the east coast of Africa, the flight tracked the eclipse for three minutes.

Turkana’s Sibiloi National Park continues to be a destination for those seeking to chase the moon whenever it covers the sun.