FRANKFURT: A German travel agency is selling tickets for a flight to give 88 astronomy buffs a close-up view of one of two rare comets expected to pass Earth this year.
Eclipse Travel, based in Bonn, has joined charter agency Air Partner and airline Air Berlin to organise flight AB1000 on March 16 as comet Pan-STARRS passes through the solar system, 100 million miles from Earth.
The Boeing 737-700 flight will zig-zag at 36,089 feet altitude for the viewing with an Air Berlin spokesman saying only 88 of 144 seats on board filled to ensure all travellers are close to a window.
An astronomy expert will be on board to explain the comet that Nasa described as a new comet that should be visible by the naked eye as it passes through the solar system this month.
The comet Pan-STARRS, discovered by astronomers in Hawaii in 2011, is the first of two comets expected to pass Earth this year.
The second is ISON, which is forecast to be one of the brightest comets ever seen and could even outshine the moon when it flies by in late November. Eclipse Travel is selling tickets for the two-hour flight for between ¤359 ($470) and ¤509. Reuters
