Follow us for live updates total solar eclipse.
On February 26, 1998, hundreds of people gathered to watch a total solar eclipse.
The crowd gasped as the moon swallowed the sun. They let out a cheer as the feathery stream at the top of the solar atmosphere came into view. Immediately after, the sun peeked out from behind the moon, and applause erupted.
“The laws of celestial mechanics saved us once again,” event organizers said in a video recording the scene from the island of Aruba, one of the places where the eclipse passed over land.
However, that crowd wasn't actually in Aruba. Thousands of miles away in San Francisco, they were huddled in front of a screen in a museum called the Exploratorium. It was the first time in internet history that a solar eclipse was live-streamed. The crowd in the auditorium was not just a remote audience for the eclipse. Years before viral videos like “Peanut Butter Jelly Time,” “Charlie Bits My Finger,” and “Gangnam Style” swept the masses, millions of young World Wide Web users watched “Eclipse '98.” , which created a digital wildfire moment. ”
For decades, technology has brought space to Earth. When his NASA broadcast of man's first steps on the moon in 1969, the public was in awe. Years later, they watched in horror on television as the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded.
But the rise of the World Wide Web has provided new ways to encounter space. Anyone with a computer, a fast enough Internet modem, and a monitor can participate in the magical experience of standing under the moon's shadow on demand. It is no longer just for those who can reach the path of eclipse.
And just as audiences in the late 19th century were astonished to see moving images projected on screen for the first time, the audience at the Exploratorium seemed shocked by what they saw on the livestream.
“Even in a remote location, people can have an emotional connection that is so important to an eclipse,” said Robin Higdon, executive producer of the Exploratorium.
The Aruba webcast gathering scene depicts the peak of the 1990s. There's no shortage of turtlenecks, pixie cuts, and colorful windbreakers in the crowd. The event organizer wore a now-vintage wired headset and stood next to a large white computer.
The Internet was just starting to take off. YouTube was seven years away from being founded, when fewer than half of Americans had access to the Internet, and many complained about slow dial-up speeds. Despite technical obstacles, the eclipse livestream, conducted with support from NASA and the Discovery Channel, was one of his efforts by his Exploratorium to establish an online presence. Part of the goal was to share what's inside with people who couldn't visit in person, said Rob Semper, the museum's chief learning officer who helped launch the website more than 30 years ago. .
“But the Web was also a way to bring in the outside world,” Dr. Semper added.
What the staff didn't anticipate was how many people the webcast would reach beyond the museum's walls. Among the first live high-definition videos of the solar eclipse, the stream was quickly picked up by major news networks. A museum spokesperson said 4 million viewers watched directly online.
Years later, more and more people are viewing solar eclipses and other astronomical phenomena digitally. His 2017 total solar eclipse across the United States had a huge online audience, and by then he had many organizations other than the Exploratorium streaming the solar spectacle. NASA streamed his live show from 12 locations. Science, which aired in Oregon, on his channel also attracted a lot of views. Both are scheduled to do it again this year during the solar eclipse on April 8th.
“As with many aspects of our lives that have been changed by the Internet, accessibility is key,” said Jeff Hall, a solar astronomer at Lowell Observatory who narrated part of the 2017 webcast. Images of the eclipse have been available for some time, but “being able to watch the event unfold in real time is a different level of experience,” he added.
The livestream also provides viewers with the opportunity to learn about the different cultural beliefs of the places under the moon's shadow. Last October, Exploratorium streamed the “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse from Utah's Valley of the Gods. There, a huge rocky red spire juts out of the earth. Because this land is sacred to the Navajo Nation, the museum partnered with Navajo astronomers who will share their traditional knowledge of the cosmos.
Not everyone thinks that the Internet is a worthy substitute for real life. “It's the wrong way to experience a solar eclipse,” says Paul Maley, a former NASA engineer who has witnessed 83 solar eclipses and counting.
As Maley explains, a solar eclipse is more than meets the eye. During totality, the wind changes, the temperature drops, and the horizon shines. “If you watch the livestream, there’s nothing like that,” he said.
Patricia Leaf, a physicist at Rice University, agrees to some extent. “Live feeds are cool, but they're basically just visuals,” she said. “It's like the difference between looking at a photo of the Grand Canyon and canoeing down it.”
Still, Dr. Leaf has set up webcasts of some of the solar eclipses he has traveled to see, broadcasting 25 of them so far, and at least part of the experience can be seen through a screen. I think I can convey it. The 1991 solar eclipse is one of his last memories of his mother. When Dr. Leaf saw this eclipse in Mexico, his mother was watching a television broadcast of the event.
“It was a moment we shared, even though we were far apart from each other,” she said.
Beyond live streams, the Internet has greatly expanded the reach of information about solar eclipses to the public, including locations, safe viewing methods, and weather forecasts. Eclipse trackers use it as a tool to connect with each other, plan trips, and describe their visceral reactions to a total solar eclipse. Researchers analyzed social media activity due to the 2017 solar eclipse and studied the tourism trends it triggered in rural areas.
In April, the Exploratorium will be back in action, this time with production crews from Texas and Mexico, to stream the last solar eclipse to affect the continental United States for 20 years. They host programs in both English and Spanish and offer what Larry Kenworthy, the museum's eclipse expedition technical director, calls a “nerd feed,” or three hours that organizations can use for their own watch parties. It also provides streams of. For people who just want to enjoy the scenery online.
Hall, who will host a live show on the Science Channel on April 8, hopes these online feeds will eventually inspire viewers to someday see a real-life solar eclipse.
“Put it on your bucket list to go see it someday,” he said. “Because as great as the Internet is, it cannot recreate the experience of actually being on the path of wholeness.”