Podcast: Total Solar Eclipse – Live from China
Robert Semper of the Exploratorium joins Jonathan Finkelstein of LearningTimes for a discussion of the MUSE award-winning Total Solar Eclipse: Live From China. Semper is Executive Associate Producer of the Exploratorium.
On August 1, 2008, the moon slid between the earth and the sun, creating a spectacular solar eclipse. Working in partnership with NASA’s Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, the Exploratorium sent a team to remote northwestern China to capture this awe-inspiring event in a live Webcast. We offered several ways to see the eclipse: at an all-night sleepover at the museum, on our Web site, or in our “auditorium” in the virtual world of Second Life. The response was overwhelming. More than 700 people camped out at the Exploratorium and enjoyed music, dance, roving astronomers, and more along with the Webcast–plus about 100 museums used our feed to host their own eclipse events. Live telescope feed of the eclipse was also carried by NASA TV and shared with NASA Learning Centers. In the days before and after the eclipse, 640,000 people from 190 countries, representing 136 different languages, viewed our eclipse Web site. More than 96,000 people watched the Webcast live; nearly an equal number of people viewed it the next day. And in Second Life, about 136 “people” (avatars) from England, Italy, Thailand, the United States, Canada, and other countries watched the eclipse together live.
Related resources:
- 2008 Total Solar Eclipse site
- Exploratorium Solar Eclipse Site
- The Exploratorium
- MUSE Award “Community” Category (2009)
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