Solar Eclipse 2024 Live Updates: Where to live-stream ‘rare’ Surya Grahan

Solar eclipses happen around two and five times every year but total solar eclipses takes place only after every 550 days, on average. Thus, it takes more than 300 years for a total solar eclipse to be viewable from the same location.

Google doodle description states, “The Moon is having its day in the Sun — happy solar eclipse 2024! Today the Moon crosses between the Sun and the Earth, effectively blocking the Sun’s light.”

Google marked the occasion with specially curated animation. When individual users search term “solar eclipse” in the search box on Google, a graphic overlay depicting the phenomena is displayed. It’s the moment when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and reveals the sun’s outermost layer called the corona.

• Total Solar eclipse- When the moon completely covers the sun, blocking all direct sunlight as will be witnessed this time. The sun’s corona becomes visible as the sky darkens significantly during the prime time of Total Solar eclipse. It is considered the most beautiful eclipse.
• Partial Solar eclipse- The moon partially covers the sun and creates a crescent shape. 
• Annular Solar eclipse- This is when the moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the sun’s disk, resulting in a ring of sunlight, or an annulus. 
• Hybrid Solar eclipse- When the type of eclipse changes between annular and total, the moon’s shadow moves across the curved surface of the Earth.

A Pokémon Nintendo 3DS enthusiast create a simple yet lucid simulation of the the total solar eclipse. The gaming fan made a virtual representation of the astronomical event using the sun and the moon cartridges from Pokemon Nintendo 3DS.

In India, the last annular solar eclipse was visible on December 26, 2019. The cosmic event lasted three minutes and 39 seconds and started at 5:18 am. Last annular solar eclipse was also visible in parts of Asia and Australia, Saudi Arabia, Sumatra and Borneo.

For much of the path of totality across the eclipse route through the US, the forecast suggests cloudy skies, as per the latest prediction from the National Weather Service.

Northern New England into Canada is the prime location to witness the solar eclipse as the moon will block out the sun for a few minutes and the day will turn into night. Meanwhile, Texas is likely to have the heaviest cloud cover. As per the weather department report, severe weather conditions including tornadoes and hailstorm are predicted for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. around the time of the eclipse.

In India, sutak period on the occasion of solar eclipse will not be observed this year. This is because solar eclipse will not be visible in India and hence, stargazers in India will not be able to witness the solar eclipse. Solar eclipse will be visible in the United States, Canada, Mexico and other parts of North America.

NASA will launch 3 rockets during total Solar Eclipse across the path of totality which will be live-streamed. The US space agency said, “NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will provide a commentated livestream of three sounding rocket launches for the Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path mission.”

NASA further stated, ” The livestream will begin at 2:30 p.m. on NASA Wallops’ YouTube channel and conclude after the last of the three sounding rocket launches.

NASA, the US space agency will launch three rockets 260 miles above Earth at the crucial moment when total solar eclipse will be taking strides on April 8, Monday.

These space missions aim to study the atmospheric disturbances triggered by the solar eclipse and will thus help scientists gain an insight of its possible impact on satellite signals and radio frequencies.

There are several ways to watch the path of totality from the comfort of home which will be live-streamed.

Some of the ways to watch the total solar eclipse online are: 

NASA- The US space agency will be offering multiple broadcasts of the total solar eclipse. 

Time and Date- The sky-watching site based out of Norway, will be live-streaming the solar eclipse from Llano and Texas. 

University of Maine- A team from the University of Maine will livestream the solar eclipse straight from the stratosphere.

Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) maiden solar mission, Aditya L1 is all set to track and record the Sun during the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

The developments from this data help the Indian space agency further study the chromosphere and corona of the star.

Stargazers are advised to avoid looking directly at the sun as it is unsafe to look at the Sun without any eye protection or safety gear, as per the viewing advisory for the Solar Eclipse.

Specialised eye protection must be worn to catch a glimpse of this spectacle. Moreover, a special-purpose solar filter must be secured over the front optics of the telescope, camera lens, or binoculars before any part of the bright Sun is viewed to safeguard against any severe eye injury.

NASA will livestream Total Solar Eclipse 2024 on NASA+, broadcast on NASA TV, and on the agency’s official website. 

The US space agency will provide a no-commentary, telescope-only feed of the eclipse on YouTube and NASA Television’s media channel. The streaming will commence at 1 pm and run for three hours straight. “The telescope feed will incorporate views from multiple locations, and will be switched based on weather, the eclipse’s progress, and feed availability,” said NASA.

NASA, the US space agency will offer multiple broadcasts of the total solar eclipse and cover the path of totality.

NASA in apost on X stated, “Not in the path or want to join the #eclipse party? Wherever you are, watch the total solar eclipse with us on Monday. Our livestream begins at 1pm ET (1700 UTC). But how can you tune in? A thread…”