This Monday, April 8, America will be treated to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total solar eclipse. The moon will completely obscure the sun, plunging parts of the country into darkness for a brief period. If you’re lucky enough to be in the path of totality, where the sun will be completely blocked, you’ll witness a breathtaking sight. But even if you’re not, you can still experience the eclipse thanks to Eclipse Across America. The show will cover the special event live on multiple networks, so you can tune in and watch the drama unfold from the comfort of your own home. Read on to find out when and where you can catch Eclipse Across America.
What is Eclipse Across America?
Produced by ABC News in partnership with National Geographic, Eclipse Across America is a two-hour special live event that will broadcast the total solar eclipse on April 8, which will be the last of its kind in the United States until 2044.
The special will be anchored by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis, who will be reporting live from Burlington, Vermont – one of the cities in the U.S. that will experience 100% totality of the eclipse.
Eclipse Across America will also feature Nat Geo talent Mariana van Zeller (Trafficked) and Nat Geo Explorers photographer Cristina Mittermeier (Photographer), astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi, and astrophysicists Jedidah Isler and Ved Chirayath, who will educate audiences how to safely observe and photograph eclipses and break down the science and history behind them.
Eclipse Across America will broadcast live from 10 U.S. cities, which will be in 100% totality of the eclipse. These cities are as follows, alongside the estimated time they will experience the eclipse, and the news personalities that will report the event live on location:
- Mazatlán, Mexico: Approximately 2:07-2:11 p.m. EDT with ABC News correspondent Matt Rivers
- Del Rio, Texas: Approximately 2:28-2:32 p.m. EDT with ABC News national correspondent Mireya Villarreal and van Zeller
- Dallas, Texas: Approximately 2:40-2:44 p.m. EDT with GMA3 co-anchors DeMarco Morgan and ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton and a live check-in with Tafreshi at Frio Cave
- Russellville, Arkansas: Approximately 2:51-2:54 p.m. EDT with ABC News foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli with hundreds of couples saying “I do” at the Total Eclipse of the Heart mass wedding
- Carbondale, Illinois: Approximately 2:59-3:05 p.m. EDT with ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee and Isler at Southern Illinois University
- Indianapolis, Indiana: Approximately 3:06-3:09 p.m. EDT with Good Morning America weekend co-anchor Gio Benitez at the Indy 500 Speedway
- Cleveland, Ohio: 3:13-3:17 p.m. EDT with Good Morning America weekend co-anchor Whit Johnson at the Great Lakes Science Center
- Niagara Falls, New York: Approximately 3:18-3:22 p.m. EDT with ABC News meteorologist Rob Marciano and Mittermeier close to the Falls. ABC News multiplatform reporter Reena Roy will be reporting live from this location for ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News
- Burlington, Vermont: Approximately 3:26-3:29 p.m. EDT with Muir and Davis at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
- Houlton, Maine: Approximately 3:32-3:35 p.m. EDT, at one of the last communities in America to see the eclipse
When and where will Eclipse Across America air?
Eclipse Across America will simulcast live from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT across multiple Disney linear networks, including ABC, Nat Geo and Nat Geo WILD. It will also be available for live streaming across direct-to-consumer platforms, including Disney+ and Hulu (via ABC News Live channel). Furthermore, the live event will be simulcast on various social media sites, including ABC News’ Facebook, YouTube channel, and TikTok, plus Nat Geo’s Facebook.
ABC News and Nat Geo will produce social-first content to be posted across all social media platforms during the eclipse. Audiences are encouraged to use the hashtag #EclipseAcrossAmerica to post content to their social feeds throughout the day, which may then be featured on air.
Interview with astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi
What inspired you to merge art and science through visual storytelling, particularly focusing on the night sky?
In the early 1990s I started night sky photography after I acquired my first telescope. Soon I realized my real passion was not for telescopic photography, but for a combination of night sky and landscape photography where Earth and sky, our cultural icons and the universe are connected in the visual story. I was in high school when I realized I had a strong passion for science journalism and at age 19, while studying Physics, I started writing for Iranian astronomy magazine. It was 1997 and the great Comet Hale-Bopp emerged in the sky, even visible from major cities. The photos I took of that comet from Alborz Mountains near Tehran appeared in various magazines and launched my professional photography career. Later I join as a contributing photographer to Sky&Telescope magazine in the US, and started The World at Night project in 2007, coordinating a team of about 40 photographers in over 20 countries. In 2012 I joined the National Geographic photographers.
My experiences photographing the night sky above various cultural sites gradually developed my belief that the night sky is like a roof above us all, uniting humanity. I wanted to expand this idea to a global project that brings a message of peace but also preserve the remaining dark skies on Earth by reconnecting the general public with beauties of the natural night sky. By contributing science stories accompanied by photos of the night sky, I gradually gained experience and skills in visual storytelling that merge art and science.
Can you share a memorable experience or encounter during your travels documenting night scenes that profoundly impacted your perspective on the connection between humanity and the natural world?
My experiences under the night sky have occurred on all continents over a period of thirty years. A culmination of many encounters under the night sky documenting scenes changed my perspective on life over time. What I have observed through each passing experience, has profoundly deepened my connection to the natural world. When you are alone under an ocean of stars for some moments you feel that connection to earth and the greater universe at the same time, and to the past and the future at the same time.
The night sky is timeless; it has always been there above us, eternally. Think about 10,000 years ago when our ancestors were seeing almost the same borderless night sky as we see today; this gives us a way of communicating with our origins.
The night sky is like a time machine: when you look at the moon you are looking at one second ago, Mars – several minutes ago, and the Andromeda Galaxy, visible to the naked eye, takes you back to two million years ago.
Standing under a starry night sky, listening to nocturnal sounds, and the sounds of nature in general, gives you this perspective that we are on this tiny little planet, so fragile and unique, and you become part of this planet: not a country, nor a city, nor a neighborhood.
As both a photographer and cinematographer, how do you approach capturing the essence of the night sky in stills, videos, and immersive media? Are there specific techniques or challenges unique to each medium?
Starting night sky photography today is fast and easy, thanks to improving low-light performance of consumer digital cameras and even cellphone cameras. However, access to dark skies is a challenge for many who live in urban areas.
I started photography on film cameras then shifted to digital in the 2000s. I still follow “old school techniques” and prefer to record single-exposure images where elements of the Earth and sky are not manipulated or displaced. This form of photography is more challenging in a low-light environment. Today we have many forms to manipulate photographs, but I like to stay with a more realistic approach to nighttime photography because I consider it a part of nature documentary.
Capturing the essence of the night sky in all photographic mediums is not easy, you can’t just get out of your car, mount your camera on a tripod and click the shutter button. You first must find a location with dark skies a far distance from light pollution, pick the best time for the driest weather and clear skies, check the atmospheric stability, and then find the best path or trail to carry and locate your equipment for the best possible composition. Precautions at night are required too. Scouting the area in daytime, looking out for topographic objects that can impede your progress, watching out for wildlife, pre-checking the need for local permits and government restrictions, as well as the local authorities who wander into the scene because they are wondering what I am doing there. All of these can cause major issues when shooting at night.
And in astrophotography, many moments are not predictable, and some may take years to happen in the night sky, such as a great comet, a supernova in the galaxy or an atmospheric phenomenon. The most challenging night sky scenes I have captured have been animals at nighttime, whose behaviors and movements are very hard to predict. Nowadays the main concern is our growing light pollution that largely affects the natural rhythm of life and connection to the universe. For an astrophotographer or an astronomer, the rapidly increasing number of commercial satellites is a concern too.
Your journey from astrophotography to science journalism and presenting over 100 television shows and documentaries is quite remarkable. How has your background in physics influenced your approach to communicating complex scientific concepts to a broader audience, particularly through visual mediums?
My physics background and working for an astronomy magazine and TV programs, led me to the world of science communication. Today I try to merge the skills of journalism and storytelling, with the power of photography, to deliver contents with visual impact and educational essence.