Watch The 2017 Solar Eclipse In 4K 360 VR Livestreamed Next Week

Next week will mark the arrival of a solar eclipse that will be visible across a path spanning from the west to the east coast of the US. Many people are planning to make the trip into the path of totality to see it in person, but if you can't for some reason, no worries. CNN has teamed up with Volvo Cars to livestream the eclipse, but not with ordinary cameras. The duo will livestream the eclipse from multiple locations in 4K Ultra HD and 360-degrees.

The announcement was made by CNN yesterday. The company explains that it, alongside Volvo, will broadcast the solar eclipse from multiple locations in the US that span from one coast to the other. The entire livestreamed event will be two hours long, kicking off at 1PM Eastern Time on August 21, the date of the eclipse. This means you'll be able to watch it in virtual reality using whatever headset you have handy, and that's almost as good as seeing it in physical reality.

The livestreamed show, as CNN describes it, will feature the company's Space and Science Correspondent Rachel Crane as a host, as well as renowned NASA astronaut Mark Kelly. The cameras used for the event, meanwhile, are optimized for low-light productions, according to CNN, ensuring they're capable of picking up the relatively low levels of light that will result. The company didn't reveal which models it will use, though.

Overall, CNN and Volvo are setting up livestreaming cameras in a total of seven locations in the US, the first being in Oregon and the last in South Carolina. This marks the path through which the eclipse will be visible, and gives everyone around the world the ability to see what the eclipse looks like seven different times from seven different perspectives.

How can you tune in? CNN will be presenting the event at its CNN.com/eclipse destination. You can watch the 360-degree videos using the Oculus Rift with Oculus Video, the Gear VR headset using Samsung VR, or on Facebook Live 360. If you head over to the CNN Eclipse website, you'll also see a map with the path of totality, the times when the eclipse will be visible throughout it, as well as an address look-up tool for your specific destination.

SOURCE: CNN