San
Francisco, CA (2/23/98)- Can't make it to the Southern Caribbean for
the total solar eclipse on February 26th? No problem! On February 25th
and 26th, an expedition of NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum
(SECEF), the Exploratorium, and Discovery Online will be stationed along
the path of totality, sharing live images of the eclipse with museum visitors
and an Internet audience.
Scientists from Stanford and UC Berkeley will highlight NASA's cutting-edge
solar research and images. The Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, a
joint partnership of UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) and
theGoddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, is hosting the event.
THE WEBCASTS
There will be two live Webcasts around the eclipse: one the night before,
Wednesday, February 25th at 7:00pm to 9:00pm (PST), and one during the
eclipse, Thursday, February 26th 9:00am - 11:00am (PST). Both Webcasts
will switch between the Webcast Studio on the floor of the Exploratorium
and the expedition team on Aruba, an island in the Caribbean.
Each Webcast will feature interviews with NASA Sun-Earth Connection
Scientists, discussions and demonstrations of the
science that happens during an eclipse, and will include questions and
interaction with the audience in the Exploratorium and over the Internet.
Wednesday's Webcast will be presented in conjunction with Discovery
Online's Discovery Live!, hosted by Neal Conan. Exploratorium scientists
will give a brief explanation of the eclipse. Todd Hoeksema from Stanford
University's Solar Oscillation Investigation (SOI) group, and Bob Lin from
UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory will then discuss current &
future research on the Sun. Interviews include: David Dearborn, a stellar
physicist and archaeoastronomer in Aruba; children who have witnessed a
previous solar eclipse; and the technology specialists in Aruba who will
explain the technology behind the live Webcasts.
The Exploratorium's Zane Vella, who is a teacher and is the Live@ Producer,
will moderate Thursday's Webcast of the actual eclipse. Phil Scherrer,
a solar physicist who directs the research of the SOI group will
share about the current research on the Sun. Janet Luhmann, a space scientist
at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory, will discuss how the active
Sun affects the Earth's environment. Together with the Exploratorium scientists
and crew in Aruba, we will explore the science, research and history of
eclipses and the Sun's corona. (The corona becomes visible during an eclipse,
and is the subject of much of the current research.)
TO ATTEND THE WEBCAST AT THE EXPLORATORIUM
In order to be a member of the Studio audience, simply come to the Exploratorium.
There is no special admission to join the Webcast -- only the normal Exploratorium
admission prices apply:
The Exploratorium is located in the landmark Palace of Fine Arts building
in San Francisco's Marina District, just off Highway 101 near the Golden
Gate Bridge. Ample free parking is available. For directions, please call
our directions line: 415/561-0399. We will open at 9:00am on Thursday,
February 26th for the Eclipse Webcast.
TO ATTEND THE WEBCAST
OVER THE INTERNET
In order to view the live video and audio, and to interact with others
in the chat rooms, you will need an Internet connection of 28.8 Kbps or
better, and will need to be running either Microsoft Explorer 3.0 or better,
or Netscape 2.0 or better. If you are running a PC you should be ready
to participate. With Macintosh, you will need to download RealAudio in
order to hear the action as well as see it.
In addition to the live action, the eclipse website will also be a resource
for information on eclipses, including activities, science, and articles
on the historical significance of eclipses.
|
What's News Index
