The Exploratorium in San Francisco is collaborating with NASA and the National Science Foundation to produce a live broadcast of the total solar eclipse from the Federated States of Micronesia on March 8th and 9th. The fully eclipsed sun will be visible from only a few Pacific islands, but the live broadcast from Woleai, also known as Oleai, a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, will make this amazing phenomenon available to hundreds of countries and millions of people around the world.
The “path of totality” for an eclipse – or the area on earth where people can see the moon fully covering the surface of the sun – is only 100 miles wide and moves in a curved path across the globe. With this eclipse’s remote, oceanic path, few people will see the 2016 eclipse live, but the Exploratorium is sending a team to Woleai to film and broadcast the event to share with the masses. Educators, students, and the general public will have access to a live program through the Internet, mobile phones, and television.
The Exploratorium will produce several programs in San Francisco that evening, all of which will be streamed live in high definition, allowing people all over the world to enjoy this spectacular celestial event. The telescope feed with Spanish narration will be transmitted by the Exploratorium through CENIC's CalREN for streaming worldwide. Events include:
Live One-Hour Program: From 5:00–6:00 p.m. there will be a live one-hour program that provides information about the eclipse and safe viewing techniques, as well as an exploration of the Micronesian island from which the eclipse is being broadcast. This program features stunning live eclipse imagery from four telescopes (1/4 disc and full-disc in white light and with H-Alpha filters) and explores the science of the sun, using high-definition images and video from NASA satellites.
Telescopic Imagery Feed: From 4:00–7:00 p.m., a second feed will feature telescope imagery of the entire eclipse for just over three hours, without any commentary, allowing news stations and museums to conduct their own educational programming.
Spanish Narration: A third feed will feature a shorter version of the telescope-only feed, with live narration in Spanish provided by Exploratorium scientist Dr. Isabel Hawkins.
If you are a library or a school and are interested in creating a school or community event around this program, or for general information, contact Nicole Minor at nminor@exploratorium.edu.
