Washington DC, United States

For the first time, four NASA pilots will be flying two specialised WB-57 planes off the coast of Mexico and chasing the total solar eclipse on April 8 to capture a 'never-before-seen' view. 

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The solar eclipse, which will be observed by many from the ground, will for the first time be captured from a relatively closer view.

The pilots will follow the path of totality or total darkness, which is from southwest to northeast, and will remain in the shadows till the moon crosses the sun.

From the skies, this journey will take place in seven minutes in comparison to four minutes from the ground. 

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NASA pilot Tony Casey. a sensor equipment operator (SEO) on one of the two aircraft, said, "It's extremely exciting. I am stoked. I'm so excited to be able to fly this mission. I'm looking forward to just the experience of being there in this moment and the shadow overtaking you."

Casey will be the second crewman among the two WB-57 planes and is responsible for operating the instruments of the aircraft to study the eclipse.

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How will the pilots capture the eclipse?

The pilots will be flying the plane, in which a camera and a telescope system will be installed. This will be used for capturing the images of the Sun in infrared and visible light. 

It will also help scientists study its atmosphere, the corona. The scientists through the image will also look for a dust ring and asteroids which might be visible near the Sun.

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The planes "have this system that mounts onto the nose of the aircraft that allows you to put a telescope in there," said Amir Caspi, who is a solar physicist at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado and runs the experiment which Casey will be operating. In 2017, similar experiments were carried out when a previous total solar eclipse happened in the United States.

When the pilots will tear through the sky, the eclipse will happen towards the right-hand side.

The camera will be operated by Casey and he will zoom into different locations on the Sun while the team will fly to the ground.

"The field of view only covers a third of the Sun," he said, adding that he will try to place the camera between each side of the star to capture a total view during the eclipse and click any "interesting flare". 

(With inputs from agencies)