One of Orlando’s most successful tech firms will help science enthusiasts watch the April 8 total solar eclipse in real-time using their weather app and limited-edition safety glasses.
The MyRadar app will track the path of visibility for the Great American Eclipse, which is expected to run a path northeast from Texas through southeast Oklahoma, Missouri up through Maine.
The app, which was initially built in Orlando, now has more than 15 million active users on its powerful weather and radar app. The app launched in 2008 in Orlando.
MyRadar meteorologists Matthew Cappucci and Erica Lopez will also broadcast live from within the application.
“We are excited to offer the opportunity to witness it, no matter if you are within the path of totality or elsewhere around the world,” CEO Andy Green said in a statement.
The excitement for the eclipse revolves around the rarity of a total solar eclipse, which means the moon will pass in front of the sun, temporarily making the affected areas’ sky darken as if it were dawn or dusk.
MyRadar also has safety glasses available at its online store. In addition, anyone who buys the app will get two pairs of the glasses for free.
Cappucci and Lopez will be broadcasting from San Antonio, Texas.
The total solar eclipse will begin technically at 2:27 p.m. Eastern time, when it will start to be visible from Texas. It will then run a swath toward Maine until 3:35 p.m.
Those not on the path can also see the eclipse but at different percentages of moon coverage.
MyRadar director of video and social media content Mike Linden will anchor the livestream from the company’s Orlando office.
“Total solar eclipses are the only time humans can directly observe the sun’s corona, made up of plasma streamers superheated to 2 million degrees Fahrenheit that trace loops and prominences in a surreal pattern following the sun’s magnetic field,” Cappucci said. “Day will turn to night as the moon fully blocks the sun, creating an otherworldly experience for viewers.”
For more information about the eclipse and to purchase the eclipse glasses, visit MyRadar.com.