The Exploratorium in San Francisco does some cool things on its Web site, so we checked out the site the day before the (March 29) solar eclipse. Sure enough, they had it covered, with scientists on the scene in Turkey, squarely in the path of totality.
We couldn't be there, of course, and we'd hazard neither could you nor your students. But never mind, because the Exploratorium not only did a live Webcast, but archived it for later viewing on their Web site.
They say:
On March 29, 2006, a total solar eclipse will occur when the new moon moves directly between the sun and the earth. The moon's shadow will fall on the eastern tip of Brazil, speed eastward across the Atlantic, through northern Africa, across the Mediterranean, and into Turkey, where an Exploratorium team will be waiting.
Our crew will transmit a live eclipse Webcast, as well as a telescope-only feed, from a Roman amphitheater in Side, Turkey. Weather permitting, we'll witness the spectacular moment of totality, when the moon completely blocks the sun, and the sun's glorious corona (the outer part of the sun's atmosphere) is revealed.
We've sampled the Webcast via the archive, and it's really quite dramatic. Click HERE to access it from the Exploratorium's Web site.