For those who will not be travelling to
Cornwall to see the total eclipse of the sun on
Wednesday, BT
suggests tuning into its Internet services to see
the whole event safely on your desktop.
Calling it a “solar e-clipse,” BT is providing
live pictures from the centre of totality over
Cornwall on August 11 via links on its
btclick.com
and BT Internet services.
If cloud obscures the sun and moon, BT has made
arrangements with the RAF to send
pictures back from a Hercules aeroplane. Even
people in Cornwall may find this is the only
way of seeing the eclipse on a dull day.
“Live video streaming of the e-clipse, a once in a
lifetime phenomenon, demonstrates just how much the
Internet is capable of benefiting society,” said
John Swingewood, director, BT Internet & Multimedia
Services.
“Some experts have suggested that the safest way to watch
the e-clipse is on a television rather with the naked eye —
clearly the Internet can offer even more by enabling people
to see the e-clipse as it happens and access related information
at the same time. We can’t wait!”
To cap it all, BT will also stream a live commentary, having
teamed up with local radio station Pirate FM, the so-called
“official radio station of the e-clipse.”
Surely Pirate FM deserves some kind of award for proving
the commercial viability of putting a solar eclipse on
the radio?