Solar Eclipse Live from Antarctica

[Gregg Lengling]

Viewers will have a front-row seat for an exceptional event on November 23 starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT (tentative) when Discovery Channel broadcasts a Discovery Special Presentation: Solar Eclipse Live from Antarctica. This rare opportunity will be shot in high-definition, giving viewers a superlative, detailed image of the eclipse.
Daily Planet's Jay Ingram and Natasha Stillwell will be in studio with producer/columnist and astronomy expert Ivan Semeniuk to witness and discuss the live images being broadcast from Antarctica by NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation. NHK is a world leader in HD and digital television programming and last year established the world's first HDTV broadcast centre in Antarctica.


This will be the first total eclipse of the sun in Antarctica to be witnessed by humans; the last total solar eclipse recorded for the region occurred on September 21, 1903, before permanent research stations were established there. On November 23, Australia, New Zealand and South America will observe a partial eclipse — the full eclipse will be visible only in Antarctica.

NHK plans to use several HD cameras to capture the eclipse. Cameras will be set up at Russia's Novolazarevskaya Station and Japan's Syowa Station, as well as at a nearby Adelie penguin rookery to record their reaction as Antarctica's midnight sun is temporarily blocked by the moon. In addition, the eclipse will be filmed from an airplane flying 33,000 feet above the continent.