A rare solar eclipse looms large on our cosmic calendars.
The moon will pass between the sun and Earth on April 8, 2024, allowing those in the 115-mile-wide “path of totality” to witness a gripping event. It’s a celestial coincidence that reveals our star’s ghostly corona (atmosphere), and if possible is an experience not to be missed.
Tens of millions in the U.S. reside in the coveted path where the moon’s shadow traverses Earth’s surface, but for those that either aren’t in this relatively narrow region or simply want an online opportunity to view the eclipsed sun, NASA and other organizations will provide livestreamed footage of the event.
Here’s how to watch the 2024 solar eclipse on the web.
Credit: NASA Science Visualization Studio
NASA solar eclipse livestreams
Between 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST on April 8, NASA will show views of the eclipsed sun from different parts of the path of totality, as the shadow of the moon moves across the nation.
“We’ll have telescope feeds and experts talking about the science of the eclipse,” Kelly Korreck, the space agency’s eclipse program manager, said at a recent press conference.
– You can watch the NASA livestream with commentary on YouTube (the video is also posted below) and NASA+ (which is the space agency’s streaming service).
– You can also watch a NASA livestream with more live telescope feeds (up to 12) and no commentary on YouTube or NASA TV’s Media Channel.
– NASA will also host an eclipse-viewing party in Spanish beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on the agency’s NASA en Español YouTube channel.
Exploratorium solar eclipse livestreams
The Exploratorium — an interactive science museum in San Francisco — will offer livestreams from the path of totality in Junction, Texas and Torreón, Mexico. Climatologically, these arid, southern areas have some of the best odds of clear, largely cloudless skies on April 8.
You can watch the Exploratorium’s live feeds from the Exploratorium eclipse website. The Torreón, Mexico livestream starts at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) and the Junction, Texas stream begins at 10:45 a.m. PST (1:45 p.m. EST).
Eclipse feed from summit of Whiteface Mountain
The University at Albany Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) has a new webcam atop Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondack Mountains, located at 4,867 feet in elevation.
Tune into the Whiteface Mountain YouTube channel or watch below between 3:25 p.m. and 3:28 p.m. EST — that’s when the total solar eclipse hits that region.
Virtual Telescope Project Solar Eclipse livestream
The Virtual Telescope Project — which livestreams footage from robotic telescopes to make astronomical sights available to the public — will use multiple telescopes to show the eclipsed sun.
“I’m happy to inform you that the Virtual Telescope Project will be sharing live, online, the upcoming total solar eclipse, thanks to a number of collaborators in
the right parts of the world,” Gianluca Masi, an Italian astronomer and director of the Virtual Telescope Project, said in an email.
The livefeed is scheduled to start at 17:00 UTC (12 p.m. EST). You can watch on the site’s WebTV.
And for those who still have the chance to see the total solar eclipse from the path of totality, eclipse viewers, experts, and astronomers alike all strongly recommend you experience this otherworldly event in the flesh.
“It blew me away,” Terry Virts, a retired astronaut and former International Space Station commander, recently told Mashable. “It’s an amazing, amazing experience.”
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