Of all the dramatic displays that nature treats us to, a total eclipse of the sun is the most awe-inspiring. It begins with a gradual darkening of the sky that progresses to an eerie gray. It’s strangely quiet, prompting people to speak just above a whisper as they watch a flat, black disk slide slowly across the sun. The moment when the last crescent of sunlight vanishes is unnerving, recalling ancient fears that an eclipse was signaling the end of the world. Then suddenly the sun’s corona bursts forth—a shimmering halo of light that seems to surround a black hole in the sky. This is the magic moment; this is why eclipse chasers are willing to travel to the ends of the earth. Then the moon moves on, uncovering a sliver of sunlight, and everyone cheers the sun’s return.

The Exploratorium’s eclipse expedition team has chased its fair share of total solar eclipses—seven so far—Webcasting these magnificent events to people around the world. While we won’t be traveling to this year’s eclipse, we’re providing links to other eclipse Web sites, and we’ll direct you to live Webcasts or broadcasts of the eclipse. We'll keep adding information, so check back here as the date approaches. On this site , you can watch archived Webcasts of previous eclipses, learn how to view an eclipse, read feature stories about eclipses, and much more!