I’m not going to charter a jet to watch a solar eclipse from some exotic locale, or pay a private company $100,000 (is that what it costs?) to see earth from space.
But, I did just experience the 
poor man’s equivalent: a sunset that seemed to last forever.
At least, that’s how it appears if you’re traveling on a west-bound jet that takes off an hour or so before sunset (what I did a week ago, traveling from Minneapolis to Phoenix).
Earth Rotation Math
The explanation is actually pretty straightforward (even if it does sound like an SAT Math question).
Normally, depending on your latitude, the earth rotates anywhere from 700 miles to 1,000 miles an hour (at the equator).
Factoring in my Minneapolis – Phoenix trajectory, I figure that the applicable rate was about 800 miles an hour.
Assuming the jet I was on was traveling 550 mph headed west/southwest, the earth’s rotation — from the perspective aboard the plane — slowed to 250 miles an hour or so.
Voila!
The sunset lasted more than 3x times longer than it does if you’re stationery, on the ground.
In fact, making the “slow-motion sunset” even more memorable were the clear skies and gorgeous colors the other night.
P.S.: I seem to recall that, in the Concorde’s heyday, groups of super-wealthy would charter it and fly west-bound, celebrating New Year’s in multiple locations across the globe.
