Panasonic Corp. will be live-streaming the May 20 annular solar eclipse from the summit of Mt. Fuji, and appropriately enough will use only solar power for the event. That includes all electricity needed to run the the base camp and the broadcast, including video cameras and computers.
The project, Eclipse Live from Fujiyama by Solar Power, seeks to bring the astronomical phenomenon to as wide a global audience as possible. Activities from now until the eclipse are being documented online, where visitors can expect reports about the filming equipment, trial runs and some of the webcast’s staff members.
A documentary of the streamcast project will be posted on the site shortly after the eclipse. The last time such an eclipse was visible from land in Japan was on September 23, 1987 from Okinawa Island, so there is a great deal of public interest.
Mt. Fuji is in the central eclipse path, so it’s a logical as well as culturally important place from which to capture the sun as it appears to turn into a bright, shining ring. However it is covered in snow and expected to be bitterly cold on May 20, making the solar streamcast even more of a challenge.
Related links:
Panasonic – Eclipse Live site
NASA – Eclipse site
