Total Solar Eclipse 2012: LIVE Stream, Where to Watch in Person and Online

Impact

On Tuesday, a solar eclipse will be visible to parts of planet earth. This rare phenomenon is certainly a spectacle for any sky viewer fortunate enough to live along the path. The eclipse will be visible to the Pacific Australian coast and the open ocean Wednesday morning (Tuesday afternoon in the U.S.). Although the event will only be visible to Australians, everyone around the world can watch a live feed online and participate in the excitement. 

Live-stream of total solar eclipse:

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon aligns between the Earth and the sun. This results in a shadow effect on our planet, as the moon blocks the sun’s light. During this event viewers are able to see an outer rim of the sun called the “corona.” When the moon completely blocks the sun’s path, this is referred to as totality. The length of totality can range from less than a minute to a full seven and a half minutes.

Partial eclipses can occur as well, when the moon covers a portion of the sun’s light path. However, total eclipses are the most rare, as they are made visible to a small portion of Earth’s inhabitants. With that in mind, today’s eclipse may be once in a lifetime for sky gazers.

According to National Geographic, the eclipse’s travel path will be about 9,000 miles along Earth’s surface, and its duration will be from 5:45 am (AEST) to 7:40 am It will make landfall in Australia’s Northern Queensland territory at an estimated 6:35am Wednesday, local Australian time. The only city that will be able to see complete totality is Cairns, Australia. Residents of Cairns will experience the spectacle for about two minutes.

The eclipse will end its journey in the open Pacific Ocean, reaching its longest duration of totality. The moon will drift away of the sun and daylight will return to Earth.

For those who are not fortunate enough to see the eclipse in person, multiple outlets will host live feeds of the event online. NASA will provide coverage as well as the Slooh Space Camera, which will broadcast near Cairns, the site expected to experience the eclipse’s totality. Slooh’s coverage will begin at 2:30 pm EST.  

The eclipse will occur in a short time span and will only be made visible by a fraction of Australian residents, but technological advances will allow the masses to participate in the experience of this marvel of nature.