Irelands solar eclipse is fast approaching and tonight, scientists will transform an Irish Air Corps Airbus C295 into a flying observatory to study one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena. In a mission over a year in the making, the team will have around two minutes when the aircrafts bubble window will be opened and they will to align their purpose built telescope, the E-CorMag, to measure the magnetic field of the Suns outer atmosphere (known as ‘the corona’). Although it sits far above the visible surface of the Sun, the corona can reach temperatures of around two million degrees celsius: hundreds of times hotter than the surface below. Scientists still do not fully understand why this happens, yet it is thought to play a major role in shaping the sun’s atmosphere - in turn affecting weather and telecommunications here on Earth. Senior Experimental Officer in the Trinity School of Physics Joe McCauley is making final preparations for the flight, along with along with Profe...