NASA goes all-out with livestreaming for this summer’s total eclipse

The US will experience its first continent-wide total solar eclipse in 99 years on August 21st, and NASA wants to make sure you see it… including perspectives you just couldn’t get otherwise. It’s promising an hours-long livestream that will cover the eclipse from seemingly every angle. There will be video on the ground as the sky briefly goes dark, of course, but there will also be views from aircraft, high-altitude balloons and the International Space Station. If you don’t live in an eclipse area or just can’t afford to step outside, this is probably your best bet at seeing what the fuss is about.

The agency is also taking the lead on viewing safety with its own guide. In essence: it’ll only be truly safe to stare directly at the eclipse during the two minutes when everything will be dark. At every other moment, you’ll want to use either a solar filter (such as eclipse glasses) or a pinhole projector. And of course, that’s where the livestream could come in handy — in some cases, it might offer a better view of the Sun than you’d get first-hand.

Source: NASA (release), (Eclipse Live), (safety)